FABC Communication I N F O FEDERATION OF ASIAN BISHOPS’ CONFERENCES - OFFICE OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION OSC P.O. Box 2036, Manila 1099 Philippines Tel: (+63 2) 732 7170, 338 7769 Fax: (+63 2) 732 7171 Email: [email protected]

t Vol. XXVI, No. 9 September 2011 PHILIPPINES: FORUM TO ADDRESS DANGERS OF INTERNET NEPAL: 9/11 INSPIRES DIALOGUE BETWEEN MUSLIMS, ON CHILDREN HINDUS, CHRISTIANS Pro-life Philippines Foundation held a forum on September 24 On the 10th anniversary of the attack against the Twin Towers, to address the dangers of unregulated exposure to the Internet on Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Ba’hai religious leaders called on children. The forum aimed to educate parents, teachers, catechists, authorities and ordinary Nepalis to work together to turn Nepal and Church and lay workers on the developing tech savvy culture into a secular state where all religions are respected. For them, 9/ in the country. With their easy access to the Internet, children 11 must be an opportunity to promote peace and harmony among become exposed to questionable values peddled online and child different faiths and counter all forms of religious extremism. For predators lurking in cyberspace. Titled “Crimes Against Children all Muslims who believe in peace and dialogue, 9/11 represents a and Online Safety”, the forum had Daniel Wartenweiler, director of humiliation, said Shamin Ahamad, a Muslim. According to Nazrul Onesimo Bulilit Foundation, Inc. as resource speaker. His talk dwelt Hussein, General Secretary of Nepal’s Inter-religious Council, the mainly on how to keep children safe on the Internet. (CBCP NEWS) tragic attack against the Twin Towers, has brought Nepal’s various VIETNAM: PRIESTS SHOULD COMMUNICATE BETTER religions closer together. (ASIANEWS) The government-sanctioned Cong Giao va Dan Toc (Catholicism KOREA: MANUAL FOR THE PROMOTION OF BEATIFICATION and Nation) weekly has featured results of a survey it conducted AND CANONIZATION PUBLISHED on Catholics’ perception of priests in its Aug 26-Sept 1 issue. The The Special Episcopal Commission to Promote Beatification and survey found that readers of the weekly want their priests to lead Canonization (Chairperson: Most Rev. Michael Park Jeong-il) has a simple and good life, educate and give tender care to people to published “A Manual for the Promotion of the Beatification and build a church of communion and participation. A reader Canonization” on June 15. The 472-page manual is composed of 4 complained that it is hard to have direct contact with priests as chapters and an appendix, which will be a guide for the future they spend little time with parishioners. Some readers said priests promotion of the beatification and canonization of Korean martyrs should make regular visits to share joys and sorrows with and confessors. The Catholic Church in Korea is awaiting the parishioners, to encourage people to live a good life, and to foster Apostolic See’s response to the cause of beatification of Paul Yun solidarity among communities. Another reader wanted priests to Ji-chung, Fr. Thomas Choe Yang-eop and 123 servants of God. deliver short homilies and give practical advice on how to live out (CBCK) God’s Word. (CBCP NEWS) + IN MEMORIAM + INDIA: HINDU NATIONALIST LEADER PRAYS AT MARIAN Andre M. Cardinal Deskur, former SHRINE president of the Pontifical Council for Shri L.K. Advani, a former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party Social Communication in the Vatican, died (BJ), a Hindu nationalist party, visited the Marian shrine at Mount on September 3, 2011. He was 87 years old. Mary’s Basilica in Bandra, Mumbai, on Sept 12, feast of the Holy As undersecretary since 1952, secretary Name of Mary. He placed a garland of red flowers and two candles since 1970 and president from 1973 to 1984, at the foot of the main altar below the statue of Our Lady. Out of he was very much involved, first in the reverence and devotion, he prayed for a few minutes. Along with preparation of the Vatican II document of the Basilica’s Vice Rector, Fr Aniceto Pereira, he recited the communication, Inter Mirifica (1963), when Memorare. LK Advani said he is an alumnus of St. Patrick High he was secretary to the preparatory School in Karachi, which is run by the Irish Christian Brothers. commission, and then especially in the “Since I have links with the community, I feel happy coming here, Pastoral Instruction Communio et Progressio which was demanded meeting the priests, participating in the prayers and getting the by the Vatican Council. The Requiem Mass for Cardinal Deskur Blessings.” (ASIANEWS) was celebrated at St. Peter’s Basilica on September 6. His body MALAYSIA: INDONESIAN CENTER TEACHES SACRED was finally laid to rest at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in his MUSIC TO YOUNG MALAYSIAN CATHOLICS home diocese Krakow. (JFCC) Liturgy Puskat Musik (PML) conducted a week-long seminar on sacred music Sept 1-5 in Tambun, some 100 kms from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah for 300 youth aged 15 to 25. A choir festival Appreciating beautiful works of art is not just for cultural capped the lessons with on-stage performance by the participants enrichment, it’s also an important way to experience God and themselves. Some of them expressed their desire to continue become aware of the human thirst for the infinite. studying sacred music and become Church music conductors. - Pope Benedict XVI’s weekly general audience (ASIANEWS) Castel Gandolfo, August 31, 2011 INDIA: MUMBAI ARCHDIOCESE INAUGURATES ITS FIRST TAIWAN: WEB FOR EVANGELIZATION HISTORICAL MUSEUM The Taiwan bishops’ Social Development Commission held a The Archdiocese of Mumbai inaugurated on September 26 its meeting at Holy Trinity Church in Hsintien Sept 7 to discuss first historical museum inside St. Pius seminary in Goregaon. This Internet and evangelization. Bishop Philip Huang of Hualien, head is a “celebration of our history” and an “instrument of evangelization of the commission, said diocesan offices should be familiar with for the young,” said Oswald Cardinal Gracias, archbishop of the social communications and the Catholic media. Noting that local diocese. The museum contains artefacts - the oldest dating back Buddhists and Protestants have their own television channels, the to the 16th century - belonging to the spiritual tradition of India. 59-year-old bishop said the Catholic Church should look into the The museum also celebrates the 125th anniversary of the opportunities afforded by mobile devices. (UCANEWS) Archdiocese of Mumbai, which occured on 1st September 1886 PHILIPPINES: 400-YEAR OLD CHURCH NOW A HISTORICAL under the Papal Bull Humanae Salutis by Pope Leo XIII. The LANDMARK museum will be a real “instrument of evangelization, especially for The government has declared the 400 year old Fuerza de Capul younger people. Each of these works of art has a profound message Parish Church in Capul town, Northern Samar as a historical for all of us, they reveal how artists of the time saw and lived their landmark. The original structure was built in 1606 during the faith,” the prelated added. (ASIANEWS) Spanish colonial period. In 1615, it was destroyed when Moro B O O K pirates plundered the island. That same year, a church made of stone was erected with walls to fortify the island. In 1781, Fr. Communicating Church: Social Communication Documents is Mariano Valero, a Spanish architect-priest, led the restoration of the title of a new book published in Sept 2011 by Divine Word the church and built a stonewall fortress similar to that in Missionary Franz-Josef Eilers. The 224-page book is “a first attempt Intramuros, Manila. (CBCPNEWS) to collect documents on social communication in the history of VIETNAM: CATHOLIC DICTIONARY LAUNCHED the Church beginning with the Bible as the first book on and of The Vietnamese bishops’ Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine communication” (from Introduction). The collection travels through of the Faith has launched the first Vietnamese Catholic Dictionary time with the inclusion of writings of early Church Fathers like in a ceremony held at the Archbishop’s House in Ho Chi Minh Gregory the Great, St. Augustine as well as Popes through the ages city on Sept 18. The book contains some 500 basic Christian terms, up to John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The new book complements compiled over four years by a team of 150 bishops, priests, religious an earlier work of the same author (“Church & Social and lay who specialize in Church history, culture, linguistics, Communication, Basic Documents, 2nd edition” and “Church & philosophy, scripture and theology. (UCANEWS) Social Communication, Supplement I, Basic Documents”), which BANGLADESH: SEMINAR ENCOURAGES CAREER IN MEDIA chronicles Encyclicals and basic Vatican documents from 1936 to The Catholic Bishops’ Christian Communications Center (CCC) 2002. Order from Logos (Divine Word) Publications, Manila email: and the Caritas Development Institute held a two-day seminar in [email protected] (JFCC) Dhaka Sept 9-10 to encourage young Catholics to seek careers in the country’s flourishing electronic media. The seminar entitled PAKISTAN: MAGICIAN WHO BURNS Q’URAN IN A RITUAL “Presentation, Pronunciation, and Intonation” for 54 youths had CEREMONY ARRESTED FOR BLASPHEMY well-known journalists and personalities in Bangladesh Radio as Muhammad Akram, 45, a self-styled magician from Faisalabad well as CCC director Father Joyanto Gomes as main speakers. (Punjab), was arrested on blasphemy charges Sept 22 for burning Participants said they found the program interesting and a copy of the Qur‘an during a ritual ceremony. A resident of encouraging. (UCANEWS) Faisalabad’s Mureedwala suburb, he has practiced necromancy and VIETNAM: FESTIVAL GIVES CHILDREN SOME CHEER black magic for years. Police charged Muhammad Akram under Catholic nuns and Buddhists in Hue staged a cultural evening Section 295 B of the Pakistan Penal Code, the so-called ‘black law’, on Sept 12 for children whose lives have been affected by HIV/ which often leads to the extrajudicial murder of people accused of AIDS as a way of boosting their spirits. Around 90 children whose blasphemy before or during their sentence. (ASIANEWS) parents are living with or who have died of HIV/AIDS were TURKMENISTAN: PRESIDENT PREPARES NEW ‘HOLY entertained with traditional lion dances, sang country songs and BOOK’ made colorful lanterns at Hai Duc temple. The children were also President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is about to give his given sweets, milk, toys and even money as special treats. nation a new “holy book” to replace the Ruhnama (Book of the (UCANEWS) Soul) written by his predecessor the late Saparmurat Niyazov. PHILIPPINES: BISHOP INSISTS ‘ECCLESIASTICAL GARB’ Ruhnama became the basis of a personality cult imposed by the FOR PRIESTS deceased Central Asian leader. Niyazov, the self-proclaimed father Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran, a canon lawyer, and guide of all Turkmen, governed the country for 21 years until insisted that priests should wear the appropriate ecclesiastical garb his death in December 2006. His power was so absolute that he in public. This should give testimony that the bearer is an ordained was referred to as the “last pharaoh.” Besides statues and ever- minister. “His (priestly) life, his behavior, his prayer life, his present posters bearing his portrait, state propaganda glorified him decorum, his language … all of them has to communicate and as a “prophet.” Published in 2001, Ruhnama, a “revision” of Islam, articulate the reality of priesthood,” Bishop Medroso said. Clerical became compulsory literature in all schools and mosques and was attire approved by the Philippine Catholic hierarchy is cassock or even found in Internet cafes. (ASIANEWS) religious habit; clergyman’s suit; trousers of dark one-tone color, with a clerical collar. (UCANEWS)