Urban poor follow in Holy Family’s footsteps

Carrying banners, Christmas lanterns and giant puppets, some 3,000 slum dwellers marched in the streets of Manila to reenact the travails of Joseph and Mary in search for lodging in Bethlehem.

The poor people walked from Palanca Street in Manila to Mendiola Bridge, a few meters from the gates of the presidential palace, to dramatize their own search for a decent shelter.

Maria Nita Belotindos, a 39-year-old mother of three who played Mary, said what they want is to call the attention of President Benigno Aquino III to their plight.

© Full report at ucanews.com

Catholics put robots through their paces

Filipino Catholic youths joined over 600 young scientists from about 20 countries for this year’s World Robot Olympiad, an annual competition to showcase robotic systems.

“It is really hard but we really don’t mind because we wanted to prove that we can do it, said Alexandra Guevarra from the province of Bulacan, north of Manila.

Guevarra and her team grabbed the top prize in the junior high school open category of the competition.

© Full report at ucanews.com

Thousands rejoice over new Spanish saint

Thousands of Filipinos have turned out to celebrate the canonization of Spanish Saint Candida Maria de Jesus, who founded the Daughters of Jesus.

“The Church is thankful for the fruits of her holiness, including the youths who were educated in schools founded by her congregation,” Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila said at a Manila celebration on Oct. 18.

Saint Candida was one of six people canonized by Pope Benedict XVI a day earlier. They included Stanislaw Soltys Kazimierczyk, Andre (Alfred) Bessette, Mary Helen MacKillop, Giulia Salzano and Battista (Camilla) Varano.

© Full report at ucanews.com

People, institutions honored for promoting Christian values

Several individuals, schools and media institutions were recognized by an award-giving body for promoting Christian values.

“I really thank God and Mama Mary. It’s an honor to have this award,” said Fatima Soriano, a blind 17-year-old who bagged the Best Inspirational Song award for Awit ng Puso (Song of the Heart) at the 2010 Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA).

Jesuit newpaper columnist Father Joaquin Bernas was granted the Serviam Award at the awards ceremony held on Oct. 13 at the Medicine Auditorium of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

© Full report at ucanews.com

Church ‘must stop taking tainted cash’

The Philippine Church must stop benefiting from the very corruption that it seeks to eradicate, says a social activist priest.

“There are some Church institutions that are receiving [money] from government institutions like the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagor), the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) etc.,” said Father Jose Dizon.

The priest, a member of Solidarity Philippines which promotes Church social teachings, made these comments amid controversy over huge bonuses and perks that officials of government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) allegedly gave themselves.

The Philippine Senate is currently conducting an investigation into the matter.

© Full report at ucanews.com

Limits on pension rights for elderly draw flak

The Philippine government’s deferment of the full implementation of a law that provides pensions to the elderly is biased against the poor, says a senior citizen’s organization.

The government had announced it could only release 871 million pesos (US$19.64 million) next year. This is a fraction of the 7 billion required annual funding for a 500-peso elderly monthly pension as provided by law.

Only those 80 years old and above now qualify for the pension in 2011 or about 145,150 senior citizens, as opposed to the estimated 4.1 million elderly who are 60 years and older and who should be receiving the pension.

“I’m quite disappointed,” said Ed Gerlock of the NGO Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE). He said most of the elderly are below 80 years old.

© Full report at ucanews.com

Filipinos snub Caritas flood aid appeal

A week after appealing for aid for Pakistan flood victims, Caritas Filipinas is yet to receive donations from Philippine dioceses, says a Caritas official.

“We need to strategize how to drum up appeal,” said Father Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary of the bishop’s conference’s social action secretariat that administers Caritas Filipinas.

Filipinos seem unaware of what is going on in Pakistan, he said. “There’s not much media exposure.”

© Full report at ucanews.com

New-style urban poor need Church help

A NEW type of homeless street people has emerged in Metro Manila as urban poor communities are demolished and jobs hard to find, a visiting Japanese social scientist and researcher said.

This is a new phenomenon, the result of globalization and a crisis of capitalism, Hideo Aoki, director of Institute on Social Theory and Dynamics based in Hiroshima City, Japan, told ucanews.com Sunday.

He estimates that there are “more than 100,000” homeless people living in and around Metro Manila.


© Full report at ucanews.com