Summer Course on Ecumenical and Interreligious Movements

The Centro Pro-Unione at Piaza Navona

Lectures and Discussion

At the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID)

with Msgr. Andrew Vishnu (undersecretary PCID)


We have just finished the first week of the summer course on Ecumenical and Interreligious Movements. This is being held at the Dora Pamphilia building just in front of Piaza Navona. There are 14 participants coming from the USA, France, Vietnam, India, Colombia, Philippines.

We usually have 3 lectures and discussion in the morning. The afternoons are mostly free, with some guided tours.

This is schedule we followed this week:



Monday June 21

I. Biblical Foundations (Puglisi)
II. Historical Overview of the factions/divisions with the church (Rossi)
III. Eastern Christianity


Tuesday June 22

I. Reading of Ecumenical Texts (Rossi)
II. Reformation (Loughran)
III. Concept of Reception in the Ecumenical Movement (McDonald)

Wednesday June 23

I. Radical Reformation (Puglisi)
II. Anglicanism (McDonald)
III. Catholic Reformation (Loughran)


Thursday June 24

Morning spent at the offices of the Pontifical Council for Promotion of Christian Unity (Bishop O'Farrell) and at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (Msgr. Andrew Vishnu).


Friday June 25

I. World Council of Churches (Rossi)
II. Models of Unity (McDonald)
III. Week's Summary/Discussion (Staff)

The Pilgrim at St. Peter's Basilica

I was at St. Peter's Basilica yesterday afternoon - together with the participants of the summer course on Ecumenical and Interreligious Movements. I've been here so many times before and it's good to be back - after 15 years. There were a lot of people - but it was difficult to distinguish the tourists from the pilgrims. Well, one can be both.

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The most moving experience for me was going below the basilica and visiting the tomb of St. Peter and the other popes, especially John Paul II and John XXIII - my favorite popes. I said prayer before their tombs. Unfortunately, taking pictures of the tombs was prohibited.

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I believe that what matters most is visiting the tomb of St. Peter and the popes after a long journey, and not just seeing the beautiful basilica and the works of art of Michaelangelo and Bernini.

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In the middle ages, there were three major centers of pilgrimage - Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela (Spain) . Pilgrims would often go on a long journey - usually on foot - to reach these places. Now, it is easier and faster to get to these places. And it is difficult to distinguish the tourists and the pilgrims. At least at the Santiago de Compostela only those who have journeyed on foot (at least 100 km) or by bicycle (at least 200 km) can get the pilgrim's certificate. This is what I will be doing next month - journeying barefoot along the 800 km trail of the Camino Frances starting at the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains and ending at the cathedral where St. James is believed to be entombed.

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In a pilgrimage, what matters is not just the destination but the journey. The journey is both inner/spiritual and physical/geographical. The long physical/geographical journey moves the pilgrim to an inner/spiritual journey. This means moving at a slow, relax pace. There is no need to rush.

Barefoot Pilgrim in Assisi

the old road to Assisi from the train station

outside the Basilica of St. Francis

tomb of St. Francis

the view from the Basilica of St. Claire

resting at San Damiano

the tomb of St. Claire

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At 7:43 this morning I took the train to Assisi. By 10:15 we were already at the Assisi train station which was still 3 km to the old town. Instead of taking the bus, I just walked up. It was quite cold when I reached the Basilica of St. Francis and was in time for the mass. After the mass, I prayed before the tomb of St. Francis. I prayed for his intercession -that I will be able to run/walk barefoot on the Camino de Santiago in Spain next month - following his example.

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After the mass, I walked around the town of Assisi - visiting the Basilica of St. Clare and the church/convent of San Damiano. Walking barefoot on the streets of Assisi was very pleasant, the pavement was smooth - except the rough road to San Damiano. I was very conscious of the fact that this was the same road that Francis and his followers walked on - barefoot.

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I visited the room where St. Clare died and also her tomb. I prayed for a very special intention, remembering a special friend who is now in a Poor Clare monastery very far away and whom I have not seen for over 5 years.

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It rained in the afternoon but I kept on walking around town. At 4 pm, I walked back to the train station to catch the last train back to Rome.

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Being in Assisi brought back memories of the last time I was here - in 1994. Instead of taking the train from Rome to Assisi, I walked for six days carrying a backpack and tent, sleeping under the stars at night, and reaching Assisi on the Feast of St. Clare. I slept at the doorstep of the basilica of St. Clare that night and the following day took the train back to Rome. It was after that experience that I dreamed of walking on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela someday. This dream will become a reality next month.

Barefoot Running in Rome

I arrived here in Rome yesterday morning. After a couple of hours of rest, I went out for a 4-hour walk around the city and came back in time for the mass at the shrine of our Mother of Perpetual Help in the afternoon. I went to bed early, trying to shake the jet lag.

Very early this morning I ran for two hours along my favorite running route - the colosseum, Terme de Caracalla, Circo Massimo, Capitoline hill, etc. I was filled with memories of the runs I did here during the four years that I was studying in Rome (1991-1995). This was also where I trained and ran the marathon in 1995. The same beautiful view - what is different is that I am 15-19 years older and I am doing it barefoot (which I thought would have been impossible then). There was only one runner who ran barefoot in Rome before - during the Rome Olympics in 1960 - and this was Abebe Bikila, the Ethiopian runner who won the marathon. So this morning, I felt that I was running in the footsteps of Abebe Bikila. Now I can feel the freedom and the joy of running barefoot. Running on the ancient cobblestones is not really difficult or painful. So this is what I will be doing everyday while I am in Rome for a month. This is my final training for my 800 km running/walking pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain next month.

The Pilgrim's Journey Begins

After spending four weeks as a hermit in the mountain of Busay overlooking the city of Cebu, I finally descended the other day. My journey as a pilgrim is about to start. I will be leaving for the airport a few minutes from now. In a couple of hours I will be taking the flight to Rome, Italy.

It's been 15 years since I left Rome after finishing my doctorate at the Gregorian University in 1995 . I will be returning as a pilgrim to the city which I love so much - bella Roma! I will also attend a summer workshop on Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue.

From Rome, I fly to Madrid on July 10 and from there find my way to the French village of St. Jean Pied a Port at the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains where I will begin my 800 km running/walking pilgrimage across Northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I'm excited and also filled with anxiety, wondering if I can - like Francis of Assisi- do the pilgrimage barefoot. I brought my pair sandals, in case the temperature rises over 35*C and the road becomes scorching hot and I will have to use it until it is safe to walk barefoot again. But definitely no shoes. I am relying on Divine Providence to enable me to complete my journey safely. I am also bringing my ultralight tent so that I can sleep under the stars.

Rome & Santiago de Compostela - here I come! Buen Camino!

The Wildman & the Pilgrim: Archetypes for a Masculine Spirituality

I've been living as a hermit for almost three weeks on top of this mountain overlooking the city of Cebu. I spend most of my time relaxing, reflecting about my life, praying, fasting, reading, editing my book project, playing the flute and violin, practising Spanish, performing taichi, and finalizing my itinerary for the Camino de Santiago. Of course, I also run/walk barefoot 2-3 hours a day. There is a mini-forest nearby that I love to explore.
I am reading three books: To Care for the Earth (Sean McDonagh), God's Fool: Life & Times of Francis of Assisi (Julien Green), and Wildmen, Warriors & Kings: Masculine Spirituality & the Bible (Patrick Arnold).
According to Arnold there are 2 archetypes that symbolize the male drive for freedom and can be the basis for masculine spirituality: the Wildman & the Pilgrim. The most ancient male paradigm is the Wildman which represents man's primordial connections with nature. "He represents male earthiness, that grubby and gritty manly energy radically free."
The Pilgrim acts out the "sacred ritual over many days and across numerous miles ... recreating the essentials of his own hero journey. He has become the image in the psyche for all the leavings we must do in life, all the detaching and separation we must undergo in order to find our way again to new life, new challenges, and higher danger."
According to Arnold, Jesus integrated in his life the Wildman & the Pigrim besides other other male archetypes. St. Francis of Assisi also exemplied the Wildman & the Pilgrim.
As I reflect on my own life I realize that I am a Wildman & a Pilgrim at heart.
As a Wildman I have regularly set aside time to live as a part time hermit on top of this mountain for the last 30 years. I have climbed Mt. Apo (the highest mountain in the Philippines) seven times. I occasionally run/walk around Samal Island and sleep under the stars on the beach. When running/walking barefoot, I like the feel of the earth, rocks and grass which energize me. It is when I am close to nature that I can truly sense the Divine Presence.
I am also a Pilgrim at heart. I love to go on long journeys on foot or by bicycle. In 1994, I walked alone from Rome to Assisi for six days, sleeping under the stars at night. I biked for peace across the Philippines in 2000, around Israel in 2005, around Mindanao in 2006, and around the Philippines in 2008, covering over 5000 km in 56 days. A few months ago, I ran/ walked across the mountains of Mindanao, covering 390 km in 9 days. I can truly sense the Divine Presence on my long journeys.
The following months, I will once again live the life of the Pilgrim & Wildman. I am leaving Rome two weeks from now, after a month I go to the shrine of Our Lady Lourdes in France and then do my running/walking pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, starting at the foothills o the Pyrenees mountains, across Northern Spain, and ending in Santiago de Compostela. Like St. Francis of Assisi, I would like to do it barefoot. I will also be sleeping under the stars most of the time. After the pilgrimage I will come back here on this mountain and live as a hermit for two months before going back to Davao and resume my life as a professor, and a warrior for peace, life & the environment.

Training for the Camino de Santiago : Barefoot Running

I started running at nine this morning. As usual, I did it barefoot. This time I did not find it difficult going up and down the peak of the RCPI mountain even if the rocks were so sharp that I felt I was running on broken glass. I just imagined myself going up and down the the Pyrenees mountains. By 10 am, the scorching rough road was still bearable. But once I reached the asphalt highway at 11:30 I had to wear my sandals or risk getting blisters on the soles of my feet. I finally reached my 'hermitage' at 12:50 pm.

I just hope that there won't be a lot of asphalt section on the Camino de Santiago.
I doubt if I can run/walk barefoot the entire 800 km length of the Camino across Nothern Spain. I will be doing it during summer when the temperature can rise up to 40C. Maybe 3 hrs barefoot in the morning will be realistic unless the skies are cloudy or the path will be lined with trees. I wonder how St. Francis and the medieval pilgims could walk the whole way. Perhaps, it would be easier during Spring or Fall.

I have been running up and down this mountain since 1980, but I've never done this barefoot previously. I wouldn't have imagined myself doing it. I thought only Kenyan runners could do it in Africa. Now, I enjoy doing it and I can even run barefoot 2-3 hours a day. I owe it to Christopher McDougal's book 'Born to Run' which made me realize that we humans are designed to run without shoes. Running barefoot taught me how to run with the correct form (forefoot landing, bent knees, shorter stride). I also learned listen to my body and feet, and focus on the surface ahead of me. This has made running more enjoyable and injury free.

The Barefoot Running Hermit

Once again, I am living the life on a hermit on top of the mountain in Busay, overlooking the city of Cebu. This is what I do during summer breaks every year, and this is where I spent 5 months in 2005. I am spending four weeks here before leaving next month for my pilgrimage to Rome, Lourdes (France) and the Camino de Santiago (Spain). When I come back at the last week of August, I will spend the last two months of my sabbatical as a hermit.

This is a time for solitude, silence, prayer and reflection. A time for reading and writing. A time for fasting (one light meal a day at night).

It is also a time for running/walking along the mountain trails (2-3 hours a day). This time, I am doing most of my running without sh0es - barefoot and I am enjoying it. The soles of my feet are getting thicker. The only problem is running on scorching cement or asphalt road after 9 am. I wear my sandals or Vibram Five-fingers when the heat becomes unbearable.

I run down to the Redemptorist monastery on Sundays to have a good meal with the confreres and also to get my food supply for the week. This is the only day when I have a hearty lunch and dinner. Tomorrow, I run up to the mountain again.

I only have two months before my running/walking pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. This time in the mountain as a hermit is part of my preparation - spiritual and physical.

Philippine Elections 2010: Endorsement of Candidates by Religious Leaders

While over 40 million Filipinos went to their polling places to vote for the national and local leaders, I was in the Italian Embassy in Manila being interviewed for my visa application. My polling precinct is in Davao so it was impossible for me to vote. Anyway, I already left Davao on April 27 and I will return there six months from now after my Sabbatical.

I would have voted for Noynoy Aquino for president. Instead I just prayed that there will be no failure of elections and that Noynoy will win. Among the candidates, I believe that he is the one who has the leadership qualities and capability to lead this nation for the next six years.

Unlike Pastor Quiboloy and the Iglesia ni Kristo, the Catholic Church has not officially endorsed any candidate or political party. As a priest, I should not endorse any candidate although I can let others know who I will vote for. For religious leaders, engagement in partisan politics and dictating to others who to vote for is inappropriate. We should allow our members to vote according to their conscience, while at the same time providing guideliness on voting responsibly.

I was amused when Quiboloy who claims to be the "appointed son of God" announced that it is the will of his Heavenly Father that Gibo will be the next president of the Philippines. What happens if his candidate fails to win? That could raise doubts about the authenticity of the "Divine Revelation" and his status as the "appointed Son." It could also question the belief that he has over 5 million voting members. At least the Iglesia ni Kristo appears to base it endorsement on who it perceives will surely win. Nevertheless, I find it inappropriate and undemocratic for any religious leader or church to dictate to its members who to vote for.

I'm just glad that the Catholic Church has avoided making that mistake. There is no such thing as a Catholic Vote. Although there have been some groups like the Couples for Christ and some Pro-Life groups who have endorsed Villar who is perceived as corrupt. Other bishops have endorsed JC de los Reyes of Kapatiran - a political party whose principles and programs are supposedly based on Catholic Moral/Social teachings. The Kapatiran has been expecting to get support from the Catholic Church, from the parishes and religious organizations. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an official Catholic party and Kapatiran lacks credible candidates and a mass base. I admire Kapatiran's stress on a politics that is based on principles not on personalities, but unless the Kapatiran has candidates who embody its principles and who are credible to the masses they cannot expect to get elected. Most Filipinos are person-oriented, and they do not vote primarily on the basis of platforms and ideologies.

I disagree with some pro-Life groups who declared that the only acceptable candidates are those who opposed the Reproductive Health bill. This has led them to support candidates who are perceived as corrupt. One of them even went to the extent of hoping that Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo will win as congressman and become the speaker of the house just because she is regarded as pro-life. This is a narrow and myopic understanding of what it means to be pro-life. They fail to understand that corruption is a manifestation of the culture of death and is anti-life in so far as it perpetuates poverty, war, extra-judicial killings, ecological destruction, human rights violation.

Even as I fail to vote, I pray for our country that the elections will finally be credible and that we will be spared from the age-old curse of electing unworthy, corrupt and abusive leaders (like Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her kind). I pray that we will be spared from electing someone who has been found guilty of corruption (but was pardoned) and someone who has been accused of using public office to enrich himself and his companies.

I finally pray that the elections will go smoothly and that there will be no more attempt by the Arroyo government to manipulate the results of the election that will perpetual her in power. Otherwise, I will be one of those who will actively join the People Power that will oust her.

Funeral of an Irish Redemptorist Missionary - Fr. Paddy Martin, CSsR

Last Monday, Fr. Paddy Martin died of pancreatic cancer. He was 71 years old and had been working as a missionary in the Philippines since 1964. The last time I met him was in October last year during the funeral of Fr. Abdon, another confrere who also died of cancer. At that time he had already be told that he had terminal cancer and was given a few months to live. What impressed me most about him was that he was at peace with himself was already ready to make his final journey.

I knew Fr. Paddy since my college days in the early 19870s when we occasionaly had lunch at the Redemptorist monastery. He told us stories of his mission experience in the mountains of Cebu. In 1982, when I was given my first assignment after ordination, we were in the same community Iligan. After overcoming problem with alcoholism he became active in the Alcoholic Anonymous, organizing AA groups wherever he was assigned. Fr. Paddy was well-loved by many people because of his interest and concern for them, especially the poor.

During the last weeks of his life, his sister Maureen (whom I met in Dundalk in 1993), came over and accompanied him until his last breathe. Last night, Cardinal Vidal and three other bishops celebrated the Eucharist (the cardinal couldn't attend his funeral since was leaving for Manila today).

We celebrated the funeral mass at 2 pm today which was presided by Redemptorist Bishop Manny Cabajar, bishop of Pagadian, and concelebrated by many priests. The church was packed by many people, many of them his friends and conferes and other religious sisters.

Fr. Paddy was buried in the Redemptorist plot at the Carreta cemetery.

Despedida: Saying Goodbye

This evening, friends of the community we call "Centennial Group" came over bringing food for my despedida - their way of sending me off as I leave for my Sabbatical. It was also a belated celebration of my 29th anniversary of my priestly ordination. We were also celebrating in advance the birthday of Fr. Tito Pascual. After the meal we had spontaneous singing and dancing. I accompanied with the guitar Fr. Senen who sang two of his favorite songs. I really enjoyed the whole evening.

I have already finished packing up. Tomorrow I leave for Cebu where I will make my final preparation before leaving for Rome in June. I will spend one month living as a hermit in the mountain of Busay, then the next two and a half months I will be journeying as a pilgrim in Rome and in the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (from the south of France and across northern Spain). I come back to the Philippines in late August and spend the last two months as hermit in Busay. So I will be away from Davao for only six months. This is actually part II of my Sabbatical. I had part I in 2005 where I spent 2 months as a pilgrim in the Holy Land and 5 months as a hermit in Busay. I couldn't take the whole year off since I had to be back in Davao to teach in the second semester, so this year I asked for the remaining months of my sabbatical.

I have been assigned here in Davao since I came back from my higher studies in 1995. This is my longest assignment in one community - 15 years. So far, my life as a priest can be divided into three periods: The first 8 years as a missionary (in Leyte and Mindanao). The next six years as a scholar (2 years in Berkeley and 4 years in Rome), and the last 15 years as a theology professor (also a peace & pro-life advocate). I am beginning to feel restless and I want to move on. There are other things I want to do as priest, besides spending most of my time inside the classroom. Well, for brief moments I have acted as parish priest (less than a year) but I want to be more involved in pastoral ministry among God's people and really be a good shepherd to them. I also want to have more time giving clergy retreats and conducting seminars on Basic Ecclesial Communities.

As I go on Sabbatical I have a strong feeling that a period of my life as a professor is ending and another period will begin. Whatever it is, this is something that I will find out in the mountain of Busay and along the Camino de Santiago during this sabbatical.