CFM IN THE SERVICE OF THE PARISH AS COMMUNION OF COMMUNITIES

1. CFM IN THE SERVICE OF THE PARISH AS COMMUNION OF COMMUNITIES “CFM: A Spirit-led Community of Families Promoting Communion in the Parish” CFM 34th National Biennial Convention, September 29-October 1, 2017 Most Rev. Gerardo A. Alminaza, DD, Bishop of San Carlos and CFM National Chaplain

2. …for missed opportunities …for failures 34th National Biennial Convention “THANK YOU!” for what the Lord has done… and allowed us to do…

3. In this Year of the Parish as Communion of Communities… atmosphere of prayer and reciprocal love …how we can promote Communion in the Parish we belong to.

4. As a Church of the Poor special attention on the most vulnerable …we SEE, JUDGE, and ACT according to His will.

5. OBSERVE First

6. CFM Expansion and strengthening our movement in the parish is possible if we are able to understand the ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, CULTURAL, AND RELIGIOUS realities affecting families in the world, in our country, and in the parish. …promotes communion in the parish through our engagements in the parish Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC).

7. 1. Economic World Bank (2012): 26.3% Level for all Filipinos 21.1 % Poverty Incidence for families in 2015 9.2 % portion of Filipino families living in extreme poverty in 2015 Filipinos Below the National Poverty Line (SWS 2016):

8. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB): LIVE BELOW NATIONAL POVERTY LINE 21.6% Filipinos 21 million people employed population below $1.90(PhP95) Purchasing Power Parity a day 10.8% For every 1,000 babies born in the Philippines 22 babies die before their first birthday

9. a. Unemployment (SWS) survey 21 Million Filipinos Declare themselves unemployed

10. b. Landlessness United States Agency International Development 2.9 million small farmers average farm size of 2 ha 13, 681 landholders own up to 20,000 ha

11. (Ballesteros and Llanto, 2003) 70% Filipino Farmers LANDLESS

12. c. Homelessness UN Habitat, 2008 44% Philippine Urban population Live in slums 3.1 M Homeless in Manila 1.2 M Children in the Philippines sleep in the streets 70,000 in Manila International Business Times, 2014

13. d. Child Labor 2011 National Survey on Children 3.3 million children (aged 5 to 17 years old) are engaged in child labor approximately 3 million work in hazardous labor

14. e. Hunger (PSA, 2016) portion of the population unable to meet basic food requirements 12.1 % 12 million Filipinos do not meet the basic food requirements

15. f. Migration (PSA) 2.2 million OFWs in 2016 There were more females (53.6%) than males among the OFWs

16. f. Migration b. Landlessness e. Hunger a. Unemployment c. Homelessness d. Child Labor

17. 2. Political • A. Powerlessness: “majority of families in Philippine society remain powerless over their economic situation…” “…There are about 178 political families in the country today. They have ruled and "controlled" this archipelago for so long.” Fr. Jun Mercado, OMI

18. These 178 political families control 72 provinces, or 94% of the entire Republic of the Philippines. Of the 178 families, 100 (or 56%) are old elites (belonging to the Philippines' political oligarchy since at least post-World War II). The other 79 families are new elites (post-EDSA 1986).

19. In real terms Republic of the Philippines is NOT the 90 or so million inhabitants of the land. They are the 178 political families who control, manage and own the economic and political powers of the land, from the time of Spaniards to the present!

20. B. Violence Human Rights Watch statistics show that from July 1 to November 3, 2016 1,790 suspected “drug pushers and users.” Police statistics attribute an additional 3,001 killings of alleged drug dealers and drug users to unknown vigilantes from July 1 to September 4.

21. a. POWERLESSNESS b. VIOLENCE

22. 2. Cultural and Religious What kind of culture does our present society promote? What is the situation in our domestic church- the family, and in the “communion of communities” - our parishes?

23. A. Individualism, Consumerism, Exclusion and Indifference  One effect of globalization is extreme INDIVIDUALISM; the “I-ME-MINE” attitude

24. Many children, now-a-days, are more concerned with the latest online games, latest gadget.

25. Self-worth is sometimes measured with the possession of the latest branded products

26. This “Like” generation of youth equates happiness with the most number of LIKES in posts in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube.

27. SUICIDE 21-year-old student and single mother from Cebu City committed suicide in front of her 2-year-old daughter, live streaming it over Facebook Live.

28. How many of our professionals are only concerned with careers, turning a blind eye over concerns of society such as millions of hungry children, jobless and homeless families? (Philippine Daily Inquirer) committed suicide every day 7 Filipinos or one person commits suicide every three and a half hours DEPRESSION failed relationships failing grades financial problems feeling alone no empathy from family, friends, neighbors

29. B. SECULARISM Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) 80% of Philippine population (or 80 million) are Roman Catholics YET there is an alarming trend towards secularism or rejection of religion

30. Church Attendance/ Participation …church attendance among Catholics is declining even as most Filipinos claim that religion is very important in their daily lives. Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted last March 2017 , as reported by Rappler Of the surveys on church attendance conducted by SWS since 1991, weekly attendance at religious services has always been lower among Catholics.

31. Solemnization of Marriage PSA

32. Solemnization of Marriage San Carlos Borromeo Cathedral Parish April – September 2017 N = 630 Bapatized PSA

33. In a span of 10 years, the reported marriages decreased by 20.1% from 2005 to 2015. PSA said that cohabitation (living together outside of marriage) has been increasing. There were also over 10,000 annulment petitions to end marriages filed in 2013 at the Philippine Office of the Solicitor General.

34. C. EXCLUSION

35. “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless.” – Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 53.

36. Exclusion Sins committedAGAINST the poor workers denied of just wages; poor farmers tilling lands they will never own; fishermen without shores to fish; children begging on mainstreets; the suffering-- who hunger and thirst for justice (cf. PCP 2, 267; Message of the Council)

37. Exclusion CONCRETE EXAMPLE

38. The very STRUCTURE and INSTITUTIONALIZED SYSTEM of our Church tend to automatically leave out certain people, especially the poorest of the poor.

39. BEC Situation Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) is the manifestation of the communion of families in the parish This communion is characterized by “unity, solidarity and sharing, which is based on a common faith, which is celebrated in the breaking of the bread, and which is concretely expressed in the sharing of material goods

40. Challenges identified 2016 National Gathering of BEC Diocesan Directors and Coordinators The need for common Church vision and leadership in BEC among priests, PPC and other lay leaders The need for BEC formation among clergy and laity The need for Diocesan and Parish structures to facilitate the BEC. There has been lack of BEC organizers.

41. And Lay Organizations, Movements and Associations (LOMA) have been more “inward-looking” and do not participate enough in parish BECs. On a positive note: Couples for Christ (CFC) volunteered to help organize BEC’s in the parishes where they are

42. CULTURAL and RELIGIOUS a. INDIVIDUALISM, CONSUMERISM, and INDIFFERENCE b. SECULARISM c. EXCLUSION d. BEC SITUATIION

43. What is our concrete involvement in our parish? • How do various lay movements and associations work together in our own parishes? • How do we contribute to the growth of communion, participation and mission in our parishes?

44. JUDGE Second

45. Based on the teachings of the Church, how does God want us to respond to situations we experience in our society and in the parish?

46. 2017 as the Year of the Parish as Communion of Communities On the Era of New Evangelization, (CBCP)

47. This is a year… …to discern not only the structures of governing our dioceses and parishes …to examine the quality of faith life in the parish, the fellowship, belongingness, and participation by its members

48. Parish a Communion of Communities Basic Ecclesial Communities Covenanted Faith-communities Ecclesial Movements

49. discern and implement measures on how communities of consecrated life may be more integrated into the life and mission of the parish. …building of a parish that is truly a faith community immersed in the lives of its people! CBCP Pastoral Exhortation on the Year of the Parish as Communion of Communities

50. Local parish as the communion of communities The center of Church mission and evangelization PCP II