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PAGE 7—The Georgia Bulletin, February 26,1981
MANILA, Philippines (NC) -- Pope John Paul II, during
his first day in the Philippines, urged President Ferdinand
Marcos to respect human rights, even if these rights come
into conflict with state security.
“One can never justify any violation of the
fundamental dignity of the human person or of the basic
rights that safeguard that dignity,” said the pope Feb. 17
during a meeting with Marcos.
“Legitimate concern for the security of a nation, as
demanded by the common good, could lead to the
temptation of subjugating to the state the human being
and his or her dignity and rights,” he added.
“Any apparent conflict between the exigencies of
security and of the citizens’ basic rights must be resolved
according to the fundamental principle - upheld always
by the church - that social organization exists only for
the service of man and for the protection of his dignity,
and that it cannot claim to serve the common good when
human rights are not safeguarded,” the pope said.
The pope’s comments alluded to the eight years that
Marcos ruled under martial law and to the criticisms that
the government has violated human rights. Marcos lifted
martial law a month before the pope’s arrival.
Marcos, 63, often cited national security and the need
for law and order as reasons for martial law. Among the
critics of his martial law rule have been Cardinal Jaime Sin
of Manila and other Catholic leaders. The criticisms have
caused church-state tensions.
Marcos told the pope the tensions were minor and
issued a call for a return to spirituality.
“Forgive us. We shall wipe out all these conflicts and
set up a foundation of spirituality and of goodness in
order that we can establish a society which is harmonious
with the ends of God,” said Marcos.
Pope John Paul said the lifting of martial law and the
decision to hold national elections later in the year are
“worthy of praise” and “manifest confidence in the
capacity of the people to assume their rightful share of
responsibility in building a society that strives for peace
and justice and protects all human rights.”
“It is my hope and prayer that all the Filipino people
and their leaders will never cease to honor their
commitment to a development that is fully human and
that overcomes situations and structures of inequility,
injustice and poverty,” he said.
The pope also warned against adopting Marxism and
resorting to violence as a means of accomplishing political
change. Some opposition groups engage in political
violence as a protest to Marcos’ rule.
“I pray that everyone will work together with
generosity and courage, without hatred, class struggle or
fratricidal strife, resisting all temptations to materialistic
or violent ideologies,” he said.
Besides the public meeting, the pope and Marcos met
in private for 40 minutes.
The papal comments came four days after about 2,500
anti-government demonstrators, including nuns and
white-robed priests, held a rally in Manila asking an end to
“fascist dictatorial rule.”
Critics of Marcos say ending martial law has not
changed much because he retains many of the same
executive powers granted through separate sets of
legislation.
Prior to meeting with Marcos, the pope reiterated his
warning against priests and Religious becoming involved in
strictly political issues.
At a meeting with men Religious, the pope repeated his
statement made in Mexico two years ago: “You are priests
and Religious; you are not social or political leaders or
officials of a temporal power . . . Let us not be under the
illusion that we are serving the Gospel if we “dilute’ our
charism through an exaggerated interest in the wide field
of temporal problems.”
In Rural Bacolod, Urges Justice For Workers
PHILIPPINES ARRIVAL - Flanked by Mrs.
Imelda Marcos and President Ferdinand Marcos,
Pope John Paul II greets well-wishers on his
BY NANCY FRAZIER
BACOLOD, Philippines (NC) - Economic justice
demands that workers receive a fair share of the owner’s
profits and that a nation’s general development plans
include the rural sector, Pope John Paul II told sugar
plantation workers and owners Feb. 20.
Speaking to more than 500,000 people in Bacolod, the
pope reaffirmed his earlier messages to workers in Mexico,
Poland, the United States, Zaire and Brazil “that the land
is a gift of God to all humanity.”
“It is not admissible to use this gift in such a manner
that the benefits it produces serve only a limited number
of people, while the others - the vast majority - are
excluded from the benefits which the land yields,” he
said.
“It is not admissible that in the general development
process of a nation there should continue to exist the
injustice whereby progress worthy of man does not reach
precisely those people who live in the rural areas, who in
sweat and toil make land productive, and who must rely
on the work of their hands for the sustenance of their
family,” the pope added.
He asked landowners and planters not to be guided
primarily by “the economic laws of growth and gain, nor
by the demands of competition or the selfish
accumulation of goods, but by the demands of justice.”
Pope John Paul defended the right of workers to form
independent trade unions and said government agencies
should “not become instruments of oppression or power
tools for one class category.”
The pope, who was once a quarry worker in his native
Poland, told workers that they must “never forget the
great dignity that God has granted you, never let your
work degrade you but remember always the mission that
God has entrusted to you: to be by the work of your
hands his collaborators in the continuation of the work of
creation.”
Tensions between plantation owners and sugar cane
workers in Bacolod have been high in recent years,
especially since sugar prices dropped sharply in 1975.
As early as 1969 Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich of
Bacolod appealed to owners to raise wages, saying that
worker “disenchantment and frustration at securing their
rightful share in the fruits of production is leading to
impatience and in some cases, borders on desperation.”
In his talk, Pope John Paul rejected violence as a means
toward economic justice.
“Violence can never be a means of solving social
conflict, and class struggle which opposes one group to
another cannot create justice since its premise is
destruction and contempt for man,” he said.
Archbishop Fortich’s office issued a statement saying
injustices, massacres and violations of human rights were
still regular events in his archdiocese.
During the ceremony the pope was introduced to the
widows of two Catholic lay leaders who were detained by
men in military uniforms and whose bodies were later
found in a shallow grave.
The two were among 17 people who had disappeared
from the town of Kabankalan, south of Bacolod, in the
past year.
In the crowd people commented about the local
MORONG, Philippines (NC) -- Pope John Paul II
appealed for greater aid to refugees Feb. 21 during a visit
to a refugee camp on the Filipino island of Bataan, a
World War II battleground.
“Of all the human tragedies of our day, perhaps the
greatest is that of refugees,” the pope told some 13,000
Indochinese refugees and Filipino camp workers at the
refugee processing center at Barrio Sabang in Morong.
“I appeal in the presence of the Lord of history and
before the supreme judge of human hearts on behalf of all
the displaced people throughout the world,” he said. “I
appeal for increased aid for them so that present efforts
may be sustained, strengthened and reinforced.”
Many of the refugees greeted the pope in native
Vietnamese, Cambodian or Laotian dress. During the
45-minute ceremony, the Polish-born pope received a
number of gifts, including a Cambodian stone carving of
Appsarap, symbol of the dancer of the king; a Laotian
painting of himself with a refugee child; and a Vietnamese
woodcarving of the pope.
Pope John Paul described his brief visit to the Morong
camp as “a symbol of the church’s solidarity with all
refugees, a symbol of the visit I would like to make, if it
were possible, to every camp or settlement of refugees in
the world.”
He praised the efforts of both churches and
situation.
Felixbeta Moises, an organizer for the National
Federation of Sugar Workers, said many workers did not
earn the minimum wage.
Many children work on plantations for 75 cents a day
and the union is harassed by the government, he added.
Planter Fernando Cuenca said the problems of workers
have been exaggerated. He criticized the minimum wage,
saying it paid the same amount to good and lazy workers.
A priest said several of his colleagues considered violent
revolution the only answer for impoverished sugar
workers.
governments to aid refugees as “a sign of hope (which)
signals an awakening consciousness on the part of
humanity to the cry of the poor and defenseless.”
The Morong center, which currently houses about
8,000 refugees, was opened in early 1980 and is the final
processing point for Indochinese refugees before
resettlement in the United States or other countries.
Pope John Paul said all aid to refugees and displaced
persons must be based on the example of the Good
Samaritan.
“The Good Samaritan sees the injured person in need
and he spontaneously helps him up, takes him to an inn
and sees that he receives all he needs to get well again,” he
said.
“This is charity,” Pope John Paul added, “a charity
which makes no exception because of the other person’s
ethnic origin, religious alliance or political preference, no
exception whatsoever.”
Before leaving the camp, the pope planted a six-foot
wooden cross, carved by a refugee, before the stage.
A marker at the foot of the cross reads: “On Feb. 21,
1981, Pope John Paul II planted this cross as a legacy to
the refugees who have found sanctuary in the Philippines
in their search for liberty and human dignity. It stands as
a symbol of man’s sacrifice for freedom and of the
triumph of the human spirit.”
Pope Visits Refugee Camp;
Appeals For Greater Aid
From Manila, Pope Makes Overture To China...
One Million
At Beatification
BY NANCY FRAZIER
communist government. The Vatican began when the
Chinese government slightly loosened religious restrictions
as part of its opening to the West.
“Your country is indeed devoting all its energies to the
future,” the pope said.
“I’m convinced that every Catholic within your
frontiers will fully contribute to the building up of China,
since a genuine and faithful Christian is also a genuine and
good citizen,” he added.
“A good Chinese Catholic works loyally for the
progress of the nation, observes the obligations of filial
piety toward parents, family and country. Strengthened
by the Gospel message, he will cultivate, like all good
Chinese, the five main virtues -- charity, justice,
temperance, prudence and fidelity,” the pope said.
The pope coupled his call with a plea that China
further relax religious restrictions.
The church seeks no special privileges in China “but
only that all those who follow Christ may be able to
express their faith freely and publicly and live according
to their consciences,” said Pope John Paul.
“As I am traveling so near to your great country, let
me send a message that comes from my heart and from
our common faith. At this time of grace and change, I say,
open your hearts and minds to God,” the pope said.
“It is my sincere and heartfelt hope that someday soon
we shall be able to join together, praising the Lord and
saying ‘Behold how good and pleasant it is to dwell in
unity as brothers,”’ he added.
“I have ardently desired to express my esteem to all
my brothers and sisters of the Church of China,” he said.
The pope put part of the blame for past problems on
the church, saying some missionaries to China in the
pie-1949 era might not have shown understanding toward
Chinese culture.
His talk also showed sympathy for Catholics who
joined the National Association of Patriotic Catholics, the
organization approved by the communist government but
which has been condemned by the Vatican.
“In these long years you have undoubtedly lived
through experiences which are still unknown, and at times
you will have wondered in your consciences what was the
right thing for you to do,” he said. “For those who have
never had such experiences it is difficult to appreciate
fully such situations.”
A major point of conflict between the Vatican and the
patriotic association, condemned by Pope Pius XII in
1958, has been the association’s naming of bishops
without Vatican approval. The Vatican considers the
ordinations illicit but valid because they have been
performed by validly ordained bishops.
Government forming of the association was an effort
to establish a national Chinese Catholic Church without
ties to the Vatican.
A major stumbling block of the Chinese government to
closer ties with the Vatican is the Vatican’s diplomatic tie
with the nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan. While
the pope was in Manila, Chinese diplomats boycotted
papal ceremonies in protest against the diplomatic tie.
Pope John Paul, since taking office, has stepped up
efforts to improve relations with China’s communist
government. In August 1979 the pope praised “a new
respect for religion” in China and said he hoped that “we
can renew the links of that direct contact which was never
spiritually interrupted.”
In 1980 two high-ranking Catholic churchmen -
Cardinals Franz Konig of Vienna, Austria, and Roger
Echegaray of Marseilles, France - visited China on
separate occasions.
The now retired Cardinal Konig was then president of
the Vatican’s Secretariat for Non-Believers. Upon
returning, the cardinal said the time was not ripe for
diplomatic relations, but he saw it as a future possibility.
MARTYRS BEATIFIED - The setting sun
silhouettes the cross on a Manila altar as Pope
John Paul II beatifies Filipino Lorenzo Ruiz and
15 other 17th-century martyrs. The beatification
was the first ever held outside of Rome.
MANILA, Philippines (NC) -- More than a million
people gathered in Manila’s Luneta Park Feb. 18 to watch
Pope John Paul II honor 16 men and women for what the
pope called their “greatest act of worship and love of
God.”
The pope beatified Lorenzo Ruiz, a Filipino layman
who was martyred in the 1600s, and 15 priests, brothers,
nuns and laymen of four other nationalities during a
nearly three-hour ceremony.
The crowd started gathering almost eight hours before
the 4 p.m. (3 a.m. EST) beatification Mass. The
beatification ceremony was described by the pope as the
primary reason for his five-day visit to the Philippines.
Pope John Paul praised the 16 martyrs - nine Japanese,
four Spaniards, an Italian, a Frenchman and a Filipino --
for their “act of the greatest posable love for their
brethren, for whose sake we are all called to sacrifice
ourselves.”
He summed up the theme of his trip to the Philippines
by saying: “To die for the faith is a gift to some; to live
the faith is a call for all.”
“It is the duty and the object of my apostolic ministry
to confirm my brethren in the truth, and to repeat to the
missionaries, to the students of the theological and human
sciences, as well as to all the Catholics of East Asia, the
words of Christ, ‘You shall be my witness ... to the ends
of earth,’” the pope said.
“Let us endeavor to imitate the commitment to faith
and the fidelity to commitment of those who, through
their difficult missionary task, accepted with joy and
steadfastness hard journeys, difficulties of climate,
betrayal even by their friends, privations of every kind
and terrible tortures,” he added.
The beatification ceremony, during which the 16
martyrs were given the title “blessed” by the church, took
place before the Liturgy of the Word.
Postulators for the causes of the martyrs formally
petitioned the pope to proclaim them blessed, and the
pope officially accepted the petition, culminating about
300 years of work. Beatification is a step toward
canonization.
The readings at the Mass were in Spanish, English and
Pilipino, symbolizing the political and religious history of
the Philippines. The country was first a Spanish colony
and later an American protectorate. It received full
independence in 1946.
Pope John Paul appeared slightly tired and sunburned
during the Mass.
MANILA, Philippines (NC) - China and the Catholic
Church should establish friendlier relations because
Chinese Catholics are good citizens working for national
progress, said Pope John Paul II Feb. 18.
“There is no opposition or incompatibility in being at
the same time truly Christian and authentically Chinese,”
he said.
“Whatever difficulties there may have been, they
belong to the past, and now it is the future we have to
look to,” the pope said at a meeting with 100 Chinese
Christians who came to Manila from throughout Asia.
Much of the message, however, was aimed at the
government leadership in China.
Relations between the Vatican and China were broken
off after the communist revolution of 1949. The speech
was another in a series of overtures made by the Vatican
during the past two years to improve relations with the
... But First Response Is Cool
arrival at Manila International Airport on the first
day of his Asian tour.
BEIJING (NC) - Pope John Paul II’s call for friendlier
Vatican-Chinese relations received a cool reaction from
Bishop Michael Fu of Beijing.
Before relations can improve the Vatican should
“recognize clearly its past policy toward China and
attitude toward our church, and correct it,” said Bishop
Fu.
The Chinese still remember “some very unfriendly
z language toward China” in past Vatican statements, he
° added.
Bishop Fu’s jurisdiction over the Beijing Archdiocese is
not recognized by the Vatican. He was named to head the
See by the National Association of Patriotic Catholics, an
organization condemned by the Vatican in 1958.
Bishop Fu said he welcome# the pope’s desire for
friendship, but this would have to be coupled with
positive deeds. He cited Vatican diplomatic relations with
the nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan and said
this hurts the feelings of the Chinese.
The pope made the call for friendly relations on Feb.
18 at a meeting with Chinese Christians in the Philippines.
He asked the Chinese to forget past problems and said the
Vatican seeks no political or economic goals in China.
“Let us hope so,” said Bishop Fu. “It’s hard to say
about the future. God will handle all affairs well,
including our Catholic Church.”
(In the Philippines, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, papal
secretary of state, said the pope is thinking about
recognizing the patriotic association. The cardinal added
that there “are also some signals from China” about a
possible papay visit, but “the obstacle of Taiwan remains
and makes things difficult” for friendlier relations.)
Put Human Rights Over Security, Marcos Told