Healing Explosion Concert

To those who might be interested especially the sick (or if you know someone who is), Fr. Fernando Suarez, CC, the healing priest, will be staging a Healing Explosion Concert on February 11, 2010 (Thursday) 9 a.m. at Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City. ADMISSION IS FREE!

Guests include Ivy Violan, Fr. Anton CT Pascual, Six Priests in the City, Fr. Dars Cabral, Fr. Jeff Shannon, Earth Savers Dream's Ensemble, Kasibulan Group, and many more...

For particulars, please call: Tel. Nos.: 925-7931 to 42; Fax No.: 928-3068; Cellphone: 0918-8374827 (0918-veritas); E-mail ad: kapanalig@veritas846.ph

February 11 is World Day of the Sick. For more info on Fr. Suarez's healing schedule, click here



"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the LORD." - Jeremiah 30:17

Weekly News (First Week of February)

1. Pontiff Calls for Complete Fidelity to Magisterium

Says That Doctrine Is Live-Giving, Not Prohibiting

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging prelates to call Catholics to complete fidelity to the magisterium, presenting Church teaching as a message of hope rather than a series of prohibitions. [Read More]

2. Church Remains Vigilant vs. RH Bill

MANILA, Feb. 5, 2010—Guarding against the passage of a bill that seeks to promote artificial family planning has become a matter of vigilance for the Catholic hierarchy. [Read More]

3. HIV Patient Warns vs. Internet Sex Sites

MANILA, Philippines - Magazine editor Wanggo Gallaga, a person living with HIV, warned the youth against having sex with strangers they meet through the internet. [Read More]

4. Gay Rights: Don't Ask, Don't Think

The central argument in favor of same-sex marriage or overturning "don't ask, don't tell" contains a fatal flaw. In fact, this is the flaw at the heart of the entire gay rights movement. [Read More]

5. Spanish Government Course Teaches Sex Can Be Practiced with 'Girl, Boy or Animal'

Madrid, Spain, Feb 3, 2010 / 01:01 pm (CNA).- Parent organizations in Spain are fiercely protesting the curriculum of the Socialist government’s required education course, “Education for the Citizenry,” after it was revealed that in one Spanish city, students are being taught that sex can be freely practiced, even with animals. [Read More]

6. NYT: Rampant Polygamy in Gay 'Marriage' May Benefit Institution

SAN FRANCISCO, California, February 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In discussing a new study confirming that polygamy is a staple within gay "marriages," a New York Times article has suggested that doing away with the concept of spousal fidelity in marriage represents an "evolution" that "might point the way for the survival of the institution." [Read More]

7. 'Right to Abortion' Enslaves Women, Expert Warns

Madrid, Spain, Jan 16, 2010 / 01:08 am (CNA).- Iñigo Urien Azpitarte, an expert on violence against women warned this week that the “right to abortion” championed by feminists and abortion supporters ends up enslaving women because they are turned into instruments of sexual gratification. [Read More]

8. Abstinence-Only Education Linked to Decreased Promiscuity in High-Risk Teens: Study

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Theory-based, abstinence-only intervention has been linked a lower rate of sexual involvement among African American preteens, according to a study in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a publication of the American Medical Association. [Read More]

9. Researcher: Half of Gay Couples Choose to be 'Non-Monogamous' [Read More]

10. Psychology Grounded in Catholic Thought

The Catholic vision of the person joined with the best of psychology can point the way to healthy relationships, contend the staff and founders of the Institute for the Psychological Sciences. [Read More]



Quote:

"The soul that journeys to God, but doesn't shake off its cares and quiet its appetites, is like someone who drags a cart of dirt uphill." - St. John of the Cross

I Didn't Know Jack

I want to share this very profound article especially to those who do not understand what people with SSA (same-sex attraction) go through. It is my hope that you my dear blog reader will come to know the 'Jacks' around you, and to all the 'Jacks' reading this I hope that we come to know ourselves in a much deeper way, that making the public accept and tolerate homosexual behavior is NOT the answer to our struggle.


I Didn’t Know Jack
By Corey Beals


What did I know? Not much. I knew that I had a friend who just
shared with me that he struggled with same sex attraction.

I knew I was honored that he shared something that honest with me.

I knew I wanted to help him out however I could. But I didn't know how.

I didn't know what Jack really needed. I didn't really know Jack.

I didn't know that the desires he had were but one small part of his
identity and that he didn't identify himself as gay or homosexual.

I didn't know that what he really needed was a hug.

I didn't know how healing it could be for him to just have safe hugging
and physical touch.

I didn't know that getting `filled up' with safe, non-sexual physical
contact with men actually made it easier for him to not sexualize his
same sex needs.

I didn't know that all boys have same sex needs. That is, all boys need
fatherly, loving physical touch and lots of it usually in the form of
wrestling with Dad, hugging Dad, piggy-back rides from Dad, etc.

I didn't know that if they don't get these needs met by Dad or
some other fatherly figure in a non-sexual way, it's not uncommon
for these neglected or abused boys to sexualize those needs
and seek to fulfill them sexually.

I didn't know Jack.

I didn't know that my friend had been neglected and abused by his Dad
and smothered by his Mom.

I didn't know that my hugging him helped fill these core
needs for affection in a way that helped him get what he didn't get
from his father.

I didn't know I could do more than wish him well and pray for him.

I didn't know Jack.

But there were some things I thought I knew which turned out to be
wrong. "If he's tempted by men, won't my hugging him just feed his
temptation? If for example, I have lustful thoughts for a woman,
hugging her would seem to make the problem worse not better.
Right?"

Well, that's where my ignorance was profound. My lust for
women is not the same as Jack's lust for men. His temptation was
coming from unmet needs for fatherly contact, and he had just
sexualized those core needs.

I had another question. If all he needed was some friendly non-
sexual physical contact with men why hasn't he got that someplace
else by now? Well once again, I didn't know Jack.

I didn't realize how hard it was to find such contact, since
our American culture is so quick to think that touch between men is sexual.

I didn't realize how many men simply feared sharing these needs
let alone getting them met by friends.

I didn't realize how `non-touching' we are and how toxic
this non-hugging environment is for men who didn't get their fatherly touch
needs met as a boy.

There remained one more question. What would others think about me
if I was seen hugging a man more than 1.25 seconds? I'll own that I
wondered what others would think. But once I realized that a friend was
dying of thirst and I was holding a glass of water, all those thoughts and
fears faded in importance.

"When I was thirsty, did you give me a drink or did you just
pray for me and send me on my way, still thirsty?"

My brothers, I beg you to get to know Jack. He is in your church.
You work with him. He's in your family. But he probably hasn't told you
for fear of what you'll think. Please give Jack a hug, a long hug, and help
him get what he never got as a boy.

If your friend, coworker, brother-in-law,or church brother gives you this
and tells you, `I'm Jack,' please let him know that you want to know more
and be a man.

Help a brother. Give him a hug.

Healthy Same-Sex Friendships

I truly believe that it is very much possible for a person with SSA to develop friendships with the same sex that is devoid of lust and the trappings of emotional dependency. By understanding that our legitimate need to establish friendship with the same sex is not erotic at its very core, we can begin to develop true connection with them in a chaste and emotionally mature manner.


by Andrew Comiskey

Loving members of our own sex? For people struggling with homosexual tendencies, the establishment of healthy same-sex friendships can be difficult and confusing. We deeply feel our need for same-sex companions; we may also resist that feeling on the grounds that it is "homosexual" . Still others find themselves existing between the two points -- falling in love with friends, then resorting back to the pain and loneliness of emotional repression. Either we possess another, or we repress.

I believe in a healing middle path, one that frees us to act upon our yearning for same-sex love without lustful, erotic intent. Healthy same-sex friendships can be ours! Instead of mirroring the old homosexual identity, they have the potential of enabling us to walk out our true heterosexual selves.

First, let's look at the yearning that we continue to have for same-sex friendships. Elizabeth Moberly details its origins in her excellent books Psychogenesis and Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic. In brief, her theory centers on how an unresolved relationship between a child and same-sex parent can contribute to homosexual tendencies later on. There are many factors here, but the main point for our purposes concerns the truth that children need love and affirmation from key members of the same sex, especially from the same-sex parent. Without that affirmation, a child may grow up and become vulnerable to trying to meet emotional needs for same-sex love through homosexual relationships. A legitimate need that every child possesses wrongly becomes the driving factor in an adult's sexuality!

The major point of deception for the person with homosexual struggles is that his yearning is at core erotic and can only be satisfied through an attempted one-flesh" union with a member of his own sex. Instead, Dr. Moberly helps us define that yearning as emotional and legitimate. Without condemning ourselves, we can own the truth that most of us were unaffirmed in our gender identities, and that has rendered us needy and immature in our quest for same-sex love. We desperately want the strong arms of father or the safe soft breast of mother. As a basic human need, such a yearning is without sin. We need to have compassion on the unaffirmed parts of ourselves; our yearning for same-sex love alerts us to those areas of deprivation and thus can serve as a signpost for our need to be merciful toward ourselves.

But when such a need for the lost father or mother or our youth becomes the driving motivator in our adult relationships, we can readily fall in a disordered state. Why? Because other adults do not exist solely to nurture one's "inner child." A "need" orientation, rooted in childhood deprivation, needs to be placed alongside of the responsibilities that come with adulthood. In other words, I may have childish needs, but that doesn't give me free reign to form relationships based on the egocentric view that another exists to meet my needs. I must recognize that I have distinct boundaries from the other and that my life will remain intact with or without him or her. I must give as well as receive. I may need the other very much, but I must also face the reality that the other doesn't exist on my behalf. I am an adult with childish needs -- I can own that reality without attempting to make any human being the parent that they are not. When we set up any creature as our one golden emotional resource, we become entrapped by the tyranny of our own inner child. Left to its own recourses, that child, fuel by the sum total of unmet needs, can compel us to bow down at the altar of "false parents" who are unable to love us aright.

So we are left with two separate but essential realities. Yearning for same-sex love is legitimate and stems from deprivation in childhood for which we need much grace and mercy. Nonetheless, attempting to resolve that deprivation (and subsequent yearning) by setting up another man or woman as our "emotional messiah" is false and sinful- it needs to be identified as the destructive evil that it is. How then do we proceed to get our needs met?

Personally, I have struggled with this question a great deal. My clinical detachment breaks down in the face of my own journey, alongside of many of my friends and colleagues, upon which we have sought to emerge out of the quicksand of immature same-sex dependencies and into the safe and secure place of healthy, non-possessive friendships. I have experienced a couple of relationships in the last few years where I have faced my inner child's tendency to conform the same-sex friend into an emotional resource that he could never be. I have worked through both relationships, with one friendship becoming more detached, the other growing into a healthy, adult-to-adult source of intimacy. Here are some insights I have learned along the way.

Our heavenly Father must be sought first and foremost in the face of any friendship that sparks that deep yearning for same-sex love. As Jody states clearly in her accompanying article, we need Him as our primary source of worship lest we be tempted to bow down before the creature. Our Creator needs to be our main point of connection as we seek to connect meaningfully with others. Time and time again, I have sought the Father in the face of my friendships- confessing my neediness with the deep understanding that He cares for me at that level of need. Truly, in conversation with Him, I was able to name my intense need and begin to seek him first for the meeting of that need. He sent His Holy Spirit in waves; He enveloped my heart with His nurture and strength in a way that compelled me to focus off the friendship and onto Him. At a profound level, my heavenly Father became my primary, ongoing voice of wisdom and source of love in the establishment of healthy friendships.

The Father called me to make a choice. Would I release this friend to Him and choose to see the other the way He does? Turning from my needy, grasping efforts to make this friend the sum total of my need for "father" love was crucial. I had to confess and repent before the Father of this illusion. I had to agree with Him that my friend couldn't complete me. The hallmark of neurotic relationships is the belief that the other can in fact be one's completion, prompting one to try to control that object of supposed completion. Almost immediately then, I began to release my friend to the Father. I did this several times until I began to realize that this friend wasn't exclusively mine. He was the Father's, a creature with his own brokenness who was in as much need as I was of the Father's care.

The Father in turn challenged me to see this distinct individual as a man of God who needed to be released from any of my own neurotic expectations; only then could my friend be free to walk in the fullness of God's intent for his life. Dostoevsky writes, "To love a person means to see him as God intended him to be." I was sobered by that realization. The potential of my hindering God's redemptive work in this brother's life due to my own neediness hit me hard. But, in turn, my encouraging him to grow into the fullness of his true heterosexual identity liberated me! I ceased perceiving him as somehow my completion and began to see him as a man who could go far in his own relational and spiritual development, with or without me. Slowly, I became less of a needy child to my friend and more of an adult who could really see him walk uprightly in his own inspired adult status.

One important thing I learned is that I didn't need to share the struggles of my soul concerning this brother to him. That usually does one of two things. It either weighs down the relationship with heavy-handed analysis that renders the friendship more tiresome than renewing, or it hooks into the other's neurotic tendencies in a way that bonds the two together unhealthily. I found that ongoing conversation with my heavenly Father, as well as talking to my wife about the friendship, was more than sufficient. My wife is exceptional in her ability to listen without getting defensive; she can speak squarely and compassionately to me, drawing upon her own experience in friendship. And in being honest with her about my strong feelings, their power subsided, and I was able to stand back a bit and become strengthened in the reality of my adult heterosexual status in the friendship.

A powerful realization hit me as I contrasted my marriage to this friendship. My wife is the true human completion of my maleness- through her femaleness she calls forth my strength as a man. She is the primary relationship God has provided for me that rounds out my humanity, and vice versa. My yearning for her physically and emotionally frees me to embrace my manhood; my same-sex yearning, when unyielded to the Father binds me to illusion and immaturity. That inspired rhythm of heterosexual union has helped me to understand same-sex friendships in a whole different light. A same-sex friendship cannot, nor is it intended to be one's relational completion! It can provide encouragement and support and companionship along the path toward heterosexual relationships; however, it is futile to try to exist healthily on the emotional nutrients gained solely from same-sex friendships. I praise God that at the level of my heart He has helped to see this. It has freed me to establish same-sex friendships that are intimate, yet secondary, to the primary relationship I share with Annette.

Today I can say unashamedly that I deeply love my male friends. I need them. And God has been faithful to walk me through the sometimes frightening and clumsy steps I have taken to secure such friendships. I've come to realize that in order to be a whole man of God I truly need other men to stand beside me. May God bless and empower you in your own quest for same-sex friendships. I pray that they will help you to further take hold of your true heterosexual identity.

News & Commentaries


1. Pope Urges New Answers for Today's Problems

Says Youth in Particular Need Reasons for Hope

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 28, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is inviting members of the Pontifical Academies to give "adequate" and "creative" answers to the problems posed by contemporary culture, always taking recourse to "the riches of the Christian tradition." [Read More]

2. HIV Cases Soar Among Filipino Yuppies, Call Center Workers

Casual sex, orgies are seen as possible causes of the problem

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine General Hospital on Wednesday said the number of Filipinos infected with HIV rose dramatically in the past 10 months and now includes young urban professionals such as call center agents. [Read More]

3. 5,542 Priests and Bishops Attend Clergy Congress

MANILA, Jan. 29, 2010 ─ The five-day 2nd national congress of the clergy (NCC II) which ended today drew some 5,542 priests and bishops representing 87 arch/dioceses nationwide and few priests abroad. [Read More]

4. Same-Sex Adoption Displays Contempt for Children, Warns Council

Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 30, 2010 / 12:56 am (CNA).- Members of the Council of Catholic Analysts of Mexico have criticized Mexico City’s law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, saying it reveals the contempt lawmakers of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) have for children and human life. [Read More]

5. California's Prop. 8 Trial on Hold

The trial intended to overturn California's Proposition 8, which voided a state Supreme Court ruling for homosexual "marriage," is in a holding pattern. [Read More]

6. Gay Military Porn Bust Reminds Us of Some Inconvenient Truths Regarding Homosexuality and the Military

“Gay” lobby group HRC plans $2 million campaign to push radical agenda on Armed Forces [Read More]

7. Calif. Quietly Shifts Fruitless Embryo Research Funds to Adult Stem Cells

LOS ANGELES, California, January 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - California's Institute for Regenerative Medicine came into being five years ago, fueled by a conviction that the Bush administration's restriction on embryo-destructive research in the National Institutes of Health was stifling the progress of science. [Read More]

8. Guttmacher Study Shows "Devastating Consequences" of Sex-Ed: American Life League

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – According to American Life League (ALL), new numbers from the Guttmacher Institute show Planned Parenthood-style sex education is having a dramatic impact on the rise in teen pregnancy rates. [Read More]

9. British Survey Shows Increasing Openness to Homosexuality

LONDON, England, January 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – According to the findings of the newly-released, government-backed British Social Attitudes Report, British society has become more accepting of homosexuality. [Read More]

10. Pro-life Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Draws Protesters and Defenders

New York City, N.Y., Jan 27, 2010 / 06:30 am (CNA).- Plans to air a pro-life Super Bowl ad with Tim Tebow and his mother have attracted protest from pro-abortion women’s groups. Defenses of the advertisement, themed “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life,” have come from Tebow and the organization sponsoring the commercial. [Read More]



Quote:

"Last, but by no means least, courage—moral courage, the courage of one's convictions, the courage to see things through. The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It's the age-old struggle--the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other." - Douglas MacArthur

No. 23's Journey with Courage

This is No. 23's Journey with Courage. He is one of the newer members around and quite a bit the silent type. Well, as they say, silent waters run deep.


Whenever I let go of my will to fight, I always end up defeated. Each fall made me weaker and a greater drift toward homosexuality would follow. My case was hopeless, I thought, until divine intervention showed me how to deal with my own complexities. God revealed a ray of light and directed to me the way to get out of the limbo I was in – a journey with Courage.

It had been two months, a very little portion of the seemingly lifetime walk-fall-crawl-stand cycle yet unbelievably important to be discounted. For me, this short while was already a big leap. Not that I was accelerated but because I had my first step of the walk. I decided to lift a foot to begin the journey which in no way a mere time killing wander. The difference now appears much motivating unlike my thoughts before of traveling without any purpose and doing it alone. God incessantly calls me to have my exodus and His grace strengthens me. I can feel the immense love and the generous forgiveness of God during the sharing meetings and Sacrament Sundays. Jesus had never been judgmental as it was reflected upon the faces of my fellow Courage members.

The journey was never easy though. My first step did not of course grant me an instant triumph over myself and the enemies roaming around. Actually, it became increasingly difficult. Unlike from my previous falls, however, I learnt from my mistakes and this lead me away from the limbo instead of getting stuck inside it. The defeats were not something I can crow about neither the few successes I had. Doing so would be my gateway to another fall, but these could be my stepping stone to decide for a stride and eventually move on. In the process, I had to be humble and humility pushed me to rely on God, my courage.

My journey with Courage had not yet assured me of a tighter and a more permanent grip to fight. It might not even happen. I am still hopeful, on the other hand, that in the end God’s light will prevail and the road I would have to walk through will lead me to Him.

Anti-Discrimination Position Addendum

This is an addendum to our previous posts regarding House Bill 956 or the Anti-Discrimination Bill on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity set to be approved this month. Through this, we hope to raise greater public awareness on the implications of this bill and thereby give us an opportunity to present our logical valid arguments against HB 956. By the same token, Courage Philippines along with other support groups for people with SSA vehemently oppose the inclusion of Ang Ladlad as a candidate for the party list election in May 2010 as we believe that this group's main objective in Congress is to advance the gay agenda in the country. We continue to pray that our leaders in Congress be enlightened and convinced not to approve this piece of legislation. You can download a copy of this post here.

ADDENDUM ON THE POSITION PAPER
OF
COURAGE PHILIPPINES
ON HOUSE BILL 956 and SENATE BILL 11 and other similar bills
“An Act Prohibiting Discrimination
On the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
And Providing Penalties Therefore”

1. There is no wide-scale discrimination against homosexual persons in the Philippines that would necessitate a nationwide legislation of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

The Philippine society is one of the most tolerant and accepting of homosexuality. In fact, a youth commentary by a gay “balikbayan” from the United States, Nelson Everett Toriano, has this to say:

“I was surprised to find that in the mostly Catholic society of my homeland, gay culture is more tolerated than in America. From nightlife to the media, baklas (Tagalog for gays) are the norm. The strangest part of the entire experience was realizing that although I'm a gay male, as an American I was uncomfortable with such tolerance.

In the Philippines, I was aware of almost every gay interaction or innuendo. But no Filipino seemed to give any such occurrences a second glance. Upon returning to San Francisco, I realized that in the so-called "gay Mecca" of the United States, most public displays of gay affection take place only in the Castro district. Gays in the media have only recently increased in presence. And gays who act flamboyant in the hood are asking to get beat.

I was overwhelmed by the Philippines' social acceptance of gays. It was also fascinating to see how men in a different country interpreted femininity: thin bodies, long hair, thick layers of makeup. But what was most surprising was how much I, as a gay man, noticed these things while my straight friends there didn't even care.”

(http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/gay-thailand/bangkok-philippines-t18302.html)

Most practicing homosexuals around the world is aware that the Philippines has the most gay-friendly environment in the world! They come to the Philippines because, second only to Thailand (http://philippines-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/gay_manila), we have the most accepting society for homosexuality and even homosexual behavior. Consider these things that the Philippine society has to offer to homosexual persons:

a. Cruising Areas – places where LGBT persons thrive in great numbers and engage in bar-hopping or massage. The website http://wikitravel.org/en/Gay_and_lesbian_travel describes Manila as the GAY CAPITAL OF ASIA, where “most gay-friendly or LGBT-friendly destinations are found in the city and are owned by LGBTs themselves”. It also describes Cebu as having – “active LGBTQ organizations and gay-friendly restaurants and cafes”, and includes also Cagayan de Oro as an LGBT place to be. Another website, http://www.gayfriendlyislands.com/gay-friendly-islands-philippines.html describes the Philippines as GAY FRIENDLY ISLANDS, where “the choices are endless” in terms of places and destinations frequented by LGBT.

b. Personalities – if a boy is teased “bakla” or a girl “tomboy”, they would look up to these icons in the movie and television industries and will mimic their mannerisms and even embrace their ideals and principles in life. The website (http://tagaloglang.com/The-Philippines/People/gays-in-the-philippines.html) enumerates some of them:

Renee Salud, fashion designer to the stars
Jose "Pitoy" Moreno, fashion designer to the stars
Ricky Reyes, hairdresser to the stars
Jun Encarnacion, the deceased beautician to the stars who had a wife and children

Lino Brocka, critically acclaimed director of Macho Dancer (1988) who died in 1991
Mel Chionglo, director of Burlesk King (1999) and Midnight Dancers (1994)
Maryo J. de los Reyes, director of Magnifico (2003)
Ishmael Bernal, award-wining director
Soxy Topacio, director
Elwood Perez, director

Rustom Padilla, actor who came out of the closet in 2006
Ogie Diaz, gossip columnist and TV host
Boy Abunda, journalist and TV host
Aiza Seguerra, actress and singer
Ricky Lee, critically acclaimed screenplay writer of Burlesk King (1999)

c. Publications – mainstream bookstores are now aligned to have a new section in their stores “Gay and Lesbian Publications”, featuring books of foreign and local gay authors who want to promote the homosexual lifestyle – such as the Ateneo professor Danton Remoto and UP professor J. Neil C. Garcia who even freely teaches Gay Literature to his students at the university. These are some of the popular books and magazines of LGBT in the Philippine bookstores:

Books: (http://www.glbtq.com/literature/philippine_lit.html)
Danton Remoto's Skin, Voices, Faces (1991)
J. Neil C. Garcia's Closet Quivers (1992)
Tony Perez's Cubao 1980 at Iba pang mga Katha (1992)
Margarita Go-Singco's A Different Love: Being Gay in the Philippines (1993)
Nicolas B. Pichay's Ang Lunes na Mahirap Bunuin (1993)
Remoto and Garcia's Ladlad: An Anthology of Philippine Gay Writing (1994)
Remoto and Garcia's Ladlad 2 (1995)
Aida F. Santos and Ginay Villar's Woman to Woman: A Collection of Lesbian Reflections (1995)
Remoto's Seduction and Solitude (1995)
Garcia’s Philippine Gay Culture (1996)

Most of the gay titles have been published by Anvil Publishers, the publishing division of the National Book Store chain, which has bookstores in most of the Philippines' large shopping malls. By 1997, Anvil was publishing a considerable number of gay titles each year.

Magazines:
Weegender (LGBTQ Travel and Lifestyle Magazine)
MyFemme (magazine for lesbians)
Icon (skin magazine for gay men)
Valentino (skin magazine for gay men)
Ketchup (for the advancement of LGBT rights)

d. Advertisements – the gay political agenda of desensitizing our public on homosexual behavior is further seen on its promotion on print and television advertisements. Examples of such advertisements that promote homosexuality that was not censored by any advertising monitoring group are:

Pond’s Whitening Lotion television commercial in the year 2001 featuring two gay men holding hands while walking ( see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6sHKyPxnBM&feature=related)

Glutamax billboard in SLEX (which is still there despite of objections of church groups because of pressures and influence of the gay community) featuring DJ Mojo Jojo and a silhouette man with the tag line “I feel Whiter and GAY each day” (see http://titlletatlle.blogspot.com/2009/08/dj-mojo-jojos-glutamax-billboard.html)

Added to these are tons of billboards depicting almost nude men in compromising positions – to which psychologically the market are gay men more than women, since men are more sexually aroused visually. This is still part of promoting the homosexual lifestyle to the public (if not promoting the wrong sense of masculinity).

e. Websites – there are a lot of LGBT websites available in the Internet, which are utilized frequently, even by our youth. Sad to say these websites promote the homosexual “sexual” behavior and thus endanger the innocence and morality of our young people. Examples of such websites are ManJam, Guys for Men, Men on the Net Erotic Stories, Gay Asia Online (where Manila is listed as a primary spot) and Philippine Gay Resources and Travel Tips

f. Movies – since most LGBTs work in the media, particularly in the movie industry, they utilize the production of movies, particularly the mass production of independent “gay indie” films that further desensitize the public on homosexual behavior and would mostly explain why Filipinos are accepting of LGBT. Some of these movies are:

(Sources are http://tagaloglang.com/The-Philippines/Movies/filipino-gay-movies.html
http://manilagayguy.net/2008/01/30/gay-indie-films-galore/ and www.imdb.com)

Macho Dancer (1988) starring Allan Paule, William Lorenzo, Daniel Fernando, Jaclyn Jose, Princess Punzalan, Bobby Samo, Joel Lamangan, Lucita Soriano, Charlie Catalia, Anthony Taylor & Johnny Vicar; directed by Lino Brocka; screenplay by: Ricky Lee; the ultimate Lino Brocka classic about sex, violence & corruption in the underbelly of Manila

Midnight Dancers (1995) starring Alex Del Rosario, Gandong Cervantes, Lawrence David, Perla Bautista & Ryan Aristorenas; directed by Mel Chionglo; screenplay by Ricky Lee; about three brothers from Cebu entering Manila's sex industry to work as "sibak"

Pusong Mamon (1998) featuring Albert Martinez, Eric Quizon and Lorna Tolentino, directed by Joel Lamangan tells about a unique story of a woman trapped in a homosexual relationship of two gay men.

Burlesk King (1999) featuring actors Rodel Velayo, Joel Lamangan, Leonardo Litton, Cherrie Pie Picache, Raymond Bagatsing, Elizabeth Oropesa & Nini Jacinto; director is Mel Chionglo; screenplay by: Ricky Lee; the story of an Amerasian and his friends from Olongapo eking it out in the gay nightclubs of Manila

Markova (2000) starring Dolphy and directed by Gil Portes tells the unconventional true story of Walter Dempster, Jr, otherwise known as Markova, the comfort gay man during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines

Doubt / Duda (2003) starring Andoy Ranay and Paolo Gabriel; written and directed by Crisaldo Pablo; nominated Best Director at the 2004 New York Asian American Film Festival and the Barcelona International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival; a critically acclaimed independent film about the relationship of a gay couple in the Philippines

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005) starring Nathan Lopez and JR Valentin directed by Auraeus Solito tells a tale of a 12-year-old gay who comes from a criminal family and falls in love with a handsome policeman.

Bathhouse (2005) featuring Jet Alcantara directed by Cirsaldo Pablo tells of a love story in a bathhouse in Metro Manila

Bilog (2005) starring Archie De Calma and directed by Crisaldo Pablo tells of a story of persons estranged in a cycle of homosexual behavior

Pantasya (2007) (director Brillante Mendoza) is a Filipino feature consisting of five episodes that all deal with wild gay fantasies involving men in uniform. The display of naked Asian male flesh is beautifully portrayed in each of these five erotic stories.

RoXXXanne by Jun Lana (writer/director) (February 2, 2008) tells of a story of a young man obsessed with cell phone sex scandal videos, even to the point of selling his body to homosexuals

Ang Lihim ni Antonio by Lex Bonife (writer) and Jay Altarejos (director) (February 4, 2008) tells of a tale of a teenage boy who discovers his homosexual attractions and begins to explore it

Daybreak by Charliebebs Gohetia (writer) and Adolfo B. Alix, Jr. (director) (March, 2008) tells of a married man and a light house guardian who falls in love

Sagwan (2009) by Monti Parungao tells about the prostitution of boatmen towards gay tourists

Heavenly Touch (2009) by Joel Lamangan tells the sexual struggle of male masseurs

These movies present the gay person in all walks of life, birthing the term MSM – men having sex with men. This means that they are teaching the public that anyone, even a straight person, can embrace homosexuality.

g. Church – many are not aware that there are already existing gay churches in the Philippines that perform same-sex “marriages” (which they call holy unions) and a religious order that ordains gay priests.

Metropolitan Community Churches (http://mccph.wordpress.com/) that perform holy unions are to be found in Makati, Quezon City, Baguio and Dasmarinas Cavite

The Order of St. Aelred is a religious order in the Philippines which accepts all people from all sexual orientation and ordains women and men to the holy priesthood for the purpose of serving the spiritual needs of God's children. The order promotes the eligibility of the LGBT community for the friendship of God, which follows the absolute right of the LGBTs for human rights. The order also supports the Pride March.

h. Gay Advocacy Groups – homosexuals are not deprived of organizing into political groups that want to advance their political agenda of promoting homosexual behavior to the public. Examples of such groups are:

Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network Philippines (LAGABLAB-Pilipinas)

Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (ProGay Philippines)

Rainbow Rights Project

Lesbian Advocates Philippines, Inc.

Indigo Philippines

Women Supporting Women Center

Lunduyan ng Sining (Sanctuary of Art)

Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)

University of the Philippines Babaylan (UP Babaylan) - first LGBT student organization in the entire UP System and the Philippines

The website http://wapedia.mobi/en/List_of_LGBT_rights_organizations#4. lists the Philippines with the most number of LGBT organizations in Asia. They come to fight for their human rights, but their “rights” are based on their behavior, which is dangerous since it encourages other behavior based groups to clamor for their “rights”.

With all of these happening in the Philippines, how can we say that there is wide-scale discrimination happening in our country that necessitates the passage of a bill on non-discrimination? We are an accepting and loving people, and as such LGBT has been successful in breaking grounds in Philippine society. Now, a passage of anti-discrimination bill will turn the level acceptance of gays into superiority – where a special class is treated preferentially by law.


2. Cases of discrimination of homosexuals is not due to the persons themselves but to the behavior that they exhibited (or a collective knowledge of behaviors of homosexual persons) – which in authentic criminal law should be judged as good or bad accordingly

The LGBT community is always crying foul over cases of discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity. However, one must be discerning whether such cases of discrimination were made because of the person per se, or of the behavior that the person manifested, or a collective knowledge of the general public on homosexual behaviors, that may be the basis of the person being “discriminated”.

The following are some local news reports made in recent years that tells us that institutions are generally accepting of homosexual persons, and explain how bad or criminal behavior manifested becomes the basis of “discrimination”:

“Inihayag ng isang opisyal ng Armed Forces of the Philippines na posibleng buksan ang institusyon para sa mga bakla at tomboy na nais maging sundalo. “For as long as you are not showing outward manifestation, you are not disturbing others, you are not causing scandals, then there is no problem with that," pahayag ni Army chief Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado nitong Martes. Sinabi naman ni AFP Civil Relations Service Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan na maaaring maalis sa serbisyo ang isang sundalo kapag gumawa ng mali. ”Remember, we have certain officers who were removed, discharge from the service because of scandalous acts. That we cannot tolerate," ayon kay Pangilinan. Ilang taon na rin ang nakararaan nang masangkot sa iskandalo at matanggal sa serbisyo si Army Maj. Ferdinand Ramos matapos lumabas ang isang video habang pinipilit umano nito ang isang kasamahang sundalo na makipagtalik.” (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/151239/afp-posibleng-tumanggap-ng-bakla-tomboy)

“Bakla man o tomboy ay kuwalipikadong mag-enrol sa Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) para mapabilang sa organisasyon ng kapulisan. Ito ang binigyang diin ni Sr. Supt. Melvin Mongcal, Dean of Academics ng PNPA sa gitna na rin ng mga isyu na hindi tinatanggap sa PNPA ang mga 3rd sex kahit pasado ang mga ito sa entrance at medical exam. Ayon kay Mongcal, walang umiiral na diskriminasyon sa PNPA at lahat ng babae at lalaki na ibig mag-pulis ay kanilang tinatanggap basta’t kuwalipikado, ke bakla pa siya o tomboy. "We are more particular in the capability of our cadettes rather than to give focus about their respective genders," ani Mongcal.”
(http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=338523&publicationSubCategoryId=92)

“The Manila Archbishop Monday said that having homosexual Catholic priests wouldn’t be “too bad” as long as they didn’t “act out” their “tendencies.” In an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales acknowledged that gay men had been accepted into the priesthood because “even if [the priest] has [homosexual] inclinations, it does not immediately mean that he is evil.” The cardinal noted that such priests had chosen “to make a distinction between inclination and acting out.” “A homosexual inclination is not bad but acting it out is an entirely different matter, and that is what is written in the sacred scriptures,” he added. Rosales explained that this had been the stand of Pope Benedict XVI who, he said, was “not condemning homosexuals” per se when he confronted the issue of pedophile priests during his recent visit to the United States. He noted that when Benedict declared in New York that “the Church needs holy priests, not many priests,” the latter was speaking out particularly against men of the cloth who had sexually abused children and brought shame to the Church.”
(http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137636/Cardinal-Rosales-says-gay-priests-OK-but-)

If we are to pass an anti-discrimination bill that is based on sexual orientation and gender identity where these terms are defined on a person’s behavior/s, then we are in danger of passing judgment that all homosexual behaviors are good, innate and uncontrollable because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. We will legitimize homosexuality in all its forms, whether the behavioral manifestations of homosexuality is socially (and morally) acceptable or not. We will penalize our people for the ability to pass judgment on someone’s behavior.


3. The terms Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity are political terms that only advances the gay agenda and are not recognized in binding principles by international laws

Just this December 18, 2009 the United Nations General Assembly “eliminated a reference to General Comment No. 20 on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, which was issued earlier this year by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. “ This reference, according to the Iraq’s delegate who introduced the amendment “would recognize controversial concepts on sexual orientation”, and the removal would “prevent international instruments from being "strangely interpreted"”.

Even Prof. Douglas Sanders, a gay activist and member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), admits in his paper “Sexual Orientation in International Law” three points:

• None of the international human rights instruments mentioned make any reference to “sexual orientation” or "gender identity"
• Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is impermissible under international human rights law
• Continuing reforms at the level of individual states – in the West and, more slowly, in Africa, Asia and Latin America – will permit sexual orientation issues to be openly addressed at the United Nations and in regional intergovernmental organizations in the years to come.

This last point clearly supports the idea in his paper that “two essential elements have laid the foundation for the advancement of the homosexual agenda: the repeal of any anti-homosexual criminal laws and the prohibition of discrimination. With these two elements in place, Sanders details a progression of homosexual rights in the realms of parental custody, inheritance laws, immigration rights for same-sex partners, government-sponsored educational programs against any criticism of homosexuality in schools as well as paving the way for cases challenging laws against same-sex unions and homosexual adoption.” (see www.c-fam.org)

It is just puzzling to think that we, as a supposed to be sovereign nation, will give in to the emotional and political pressures of ILGA and other LGBT organizations especially in our country, to include the complicated terms sexual orientation and gender identity in our legal system, and approve a bill on non-discrimination based on these terms, when the United Nations as a body, of which we are a member of, has eliminated these terms from their references (from any international instrument), especially on issues of non-discrimination.

The controversial Yogyakarta Principles, presented in a United Nations event in New York in November 2007, has only twenty-nine (29) countries as signatories, and the Philippines is NOT included as one of them (http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/index.php?item=25#_Toc161634723). We as a nation, and you, our dear legislators, should try to review these principles and see if we as a people are ready to accept ALL of the provisions given in these principles. Some of these principles are as follows:

• Repeal criminal and other legal provisions that prohibit or are, in effect, employed to prohibit consensual sexual activity among people of the same sex who are over the age of consent, and ensure that an equal age of consent applies to both same-sex and different-sex sexual activity;
• Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure that procedures exist whereby all State-issued identity papers which indicate a person’s gender/sex — including birth certificates, passports, electoral records and other documents — reflect the person’s profound self-defined gender identity;
• Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure the right of each person, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, to enjoy the private sphere, intimate decisions, and human relations, including consensual sexual activity among persons who are over the age of consent, without arbitrary interference;
• Repeal any law that prohibits or criminalizes the expression of gender identity, including through dress, speech or mannerisms, or that denies to individuals the opportunity to change their bodies as a means of expressing their gender identity;
• Release all those held on remand or on the basis of a criminal conviction, if their detention is related to consensual sexual activity among persons who are over the age of consent, or is related to gender identity;
• Ensure that education methods, curricula and resources serve to enhance understanding of and respect for, inter alia, diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, including the particular needs of students, their parents and family members related to these grounds;
• Ensure training and awareness-raising programmes, including measures aimed at teachers and students at all levels of public education, at professional bodies, and at potential violators of human rights, to promote respect for and adherence to international human rights standards in accordance with these Principles, as well as to counter discriminatory attitudes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Ensure that notions of public order, public morality, public health and public security are not employed to restrict, in a discriminatory manner, any exercise of freedom of opinion and expression that affirms diverse sexual orientations or gender identities;
• Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure the right to found a family, including through access to adoption or assisted procreation (including donor insemination), without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity;
• Ensure the protection of human rights defenders, working on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, against any violence, threat, retaliation, de facto or de jure discrimination, pressure, or any other arbitrary action perpetrated by the State, or by non-State actors, in response to their human rights activities. The same protection should be ensured, to human rights defenders working on any issue, against any such treatment based on their sexual orientation or gender identity;

If we are to pass into a law this anti-discrimination bill or any other bill that was based on these principles, then we are accepting these principles in its very essence. Soon, we shall be facing ourselves with the other gay rights bills that await the passing of the anti-discrimination bill. This bill will open the doors of Philippine society to the legitimization of homosexual behavior and practice, since it is based on the terms of sexual orientation and gender identity.


4. The Anti-discrimination bill may be used to incriminate people who does not approve of the homosexual lifestyle and behavior

Since the bill is based on the terms sexual orientation and gender identity that is defined on behavioral aspects of homosexuality, and discrimination is defined as actual or perceived – there is a danger that this will be used against persons or groups that does not approve of the homosexual behaviors and lifestyle. This danger is evident on the other nations who have already anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation and gender identity is in placed. Examples of how this type of anti-discrimination law has in fact brought discrimination to other types of persons:


South Africa: Homosexual Discrimination Against Heterosexuals and Women “Necessary” for Democracy

“It’s okay for guest houses catering to a homosexual clientele to discriminate against heterosexual couples, women, and lesbians, the Commission on Gender Equality ruled recently, saying it is a “necessity in our democratic society.”

The Human Rights Commission received an official complaint against two Amsterdam guest houses over a year ago, stating that the resorts were billed as “men only.” The Gay and Lesbian Alliance initiated the action after claiming to receive 107 complaints of discrimination from women, lesbians and heterosexual couples who had been turned away, Pretoria News reported yesterday. The complaint was referred to the Commission on Gender Equality, which determined that the guest houses were operating within their rights when they specified “men only,” saying they were “serving a legitimate interest in…that they seek to create a comfortable environment for gay men where they can express themselves freely.” (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06062704.html)


Cardinal Says Church Must be Exempted From British Homosexual Discrimination Law - Warns if exemption not granted Church could no longer operate adoption agencies
The Chancellor of England, Lord Falconer, told the BBC this weekend that there would be no religious exemptions to the new Equality Act's "sexual orientation regulations" (SOR). In response, England's highest-ranking Catholic prelate has warned that the Church could no longer operate social services such as adoption agencies if the government insists on coercing adherence to the homosexual doctrine. (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012401.html)

Homosexual Indoctrination in Schools
Under this new version of the homosexual indoctrination bill, private schools would also be banned from any teaching or activities deemed “adverse” to the homosexual or other alternative lifestyles. This means that any teaching promoting traditional families would be discriminatory. Any activities such as having a prom king and queen or gender-specific bathrooms would also be discriminatory. (http://www.capitolresource.org/web/34.html)

Oakland Employees Persecuted for Stand on Marriage
Two city employees in Oakland were denied their free- speech rights when a supervisor removed a flier the pair had posted on a workplace bulletin board, expressing support for traditional marriage. Despite the fact that the city had earlier disseminated information to workers on a “National Coming Out Day” rally to oppose “hatred and bigotry” against homosexuals, the workers were not permitted to express their own views on the issue. The flier posted by the employees simply promoted a “Good News Employee Association,” where workers could come together to “preserve our workplace with integrity.” The flier stated that the association “is a forum for people of faith to express their views on contemporary issues of the day with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values.” A supervisor removed the flier after a lesbian coworker complained. The employees then sued, claiming that their rights were violated by an Oakland anti- discrimination policy that promotes homosexuality and denounces Christian values. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit and now the case is being appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. (http://www.capitolresource.org/web/34.html)

Parental Rights Disappear at the Public School Door
It is alarming when public schools trash parental authority in order to force a politically correct agenda. That’s exactly what happened earlier this month in Massachusetts when a federal judge sided with public schools over parents. Four parents had sued Lexington public school when their children were given books normalizing homosexual families, without their parents’ permission. One couples’ seven-year-old son was read a homosexual fairy tale, “King & King” where a prince turns away a beautiful princess after falling in love with another prince. The princes marry, kiss, and live happily ever after. The story was read as a part of class on weddings. Lexington public school officials argued that schools have the authority to teach homosexuality in a positive light and that parents have no right to remove their children from such instruction, but that parents’ only option is to entirely remove their children from the public school. (http://www.capitolresource.org/web/34.html)


This are the scenarios that will face us when the Anti-Discrimination bill becomes a law. The liberty and freedom of other persons will be jeopardized to favor the LGBT community. Any person who stands to oppose the promotion of homosexual behavior will be outlawed. Now, see this local news taken from Philippine Star dated June 2, 2008:

Sekyu kinuyog ng 5 maingay na bakla
Ni Rose Tamayo-Tesoro (Pilipino Star Ngayon) updated June 02, 2008 12:00 AM

Halos hindi mailarawan ang mukha ng isang guwar­diya makaraang kuyugin, sabunutan at bugbugin siya ng limang bakla na pawang naburyong maka­raang sita­hin niya sa pag-iingay ng mga ito sa loob ng kanyang binabantayang internet café kahapon ng hatinggabi sa Makati City. (…) Nauna rito, labis uma­nong nairita ang mga suspek nang sawayin sila ng biktima dahil sa labis nilang pag-iingay na ikinabulahaw din ng iba pang kostumer. Iginiit naman ng mga sus­pek na sila ay mga kustomer at hindi naman sila nang­gugulo. Humantong lamang uma­no ang mainitan nilang pag­tatalo nang laitin na umano sila ng guwardiya sa pagiging homosexual nila na naging dahilan upang pagtulungan nila itong kuyugin at bugbugin.

This is just an example of how members of the LGBT community will be encouraged to harass persons who oppose their behavior, even if these behaviors are already violating the rights and moral sensitivities of other persons. They will vouch on sexual orientation and gender identity as their license to conduct themselves in these behaviors. And this anti-discrimination bill, when it becomes a law, will have a “chilling effect” on the general public, making them avoid and fear homosexual persons all the more for fear of being involved in a discriminatory case.

The LGBT community is not merely asking for acceptance, but superiority. We, members of Courage, are persons with same-sex attractions (like them), but we are working not only for acceptance by society, but for us to be empowered to face our condition and humbly change to become better persons for others. We begin with ourselves.

News & Commentaries


1. To Proclaim Christ, Know Him, Pope Recommends

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Being a witness to Christ presupposes knowing him firsthand, not just being told of him by others, Benedict XVI says. Read More

2. Abortion Judged Morally Wrong by US Majority

Survey Shows Increasing Pro-Life Trend

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, JAN. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org).- As Americans mark today's 37th anniversary of the U.S. court decision that legalized abortion, a new poll shows that the country's majority thinks killing the unborn is morally wrong. Read More

3. Women, Children to Suffer From ‘Renewable Marriage’ Proposal

MANILA, Jan. 20, 2010— More women and children are bound to suffer from a proposal that would mandate a 10-year limit on the validity of marriage contract. Read More

4. Prop. 8 Trial Witnesses Make ‘Troubling’ Attack on Religion and Catholic Teaching

San Francisco, Calif., Jan 22, 2010 / 07:17 am (CNA).- Court witnesses arguing against California’s Proposition 8 have described religious beliefs of those who believe marriage is between a man and a woman as biased and a “chief obstacle” to homosexuals’ “political progress.” The comments were part of a “troubling” attack on religion, Proposition 8 defenders say. Read More

5. McCain's Wife, Daughter Back Gay Marriage Movement

WASHINGTON – Cindy McCain, the wife of 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, and their daughter Meghan have posed for photos endorsing pro-gay marriage forces in California. Read More

6. What Qualifies the United States to Lecture Uganda on Homosexuality? Read More

7. Study: Teens who Get Intoxicated Regularly are More Likely to be Sexually Active

OTTAWA, January 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study released yesterday by the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada has revealed that teens who become intoxicated regularly and smoke marijuana are more likely to become sexually active, among other findings. Read More

8. Hawaii Faces Same-Sex Civil Unions Vote Today

HONOLULU, January 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Thousands of pro-family demonstrators filled the state capital of Hawaii this Sunday, telling legislators that homosexual “civil unions” are not welcome in their state. Attendees at the event, sponsored by the Hawaii Family Forum, were joined by Lt. Gov. James Aiona, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and several state lawmakers. Similar events were held across the state, with hundreds more rallying at the State Building in Wailuku. Read More

9. Highlights of Vatican Document on Homosexual Unions (Must Read)

Following are quoted highlights of the Vatican document “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons” which was released on July 31, 2003. The document was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope John Paul II. Read More

10. Why You Should Watch an Otherwise Brainless TV Show Read More



Quote:

"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in time of great moral crisis." - Dante Alighieri

A Journey Through Life

This is an open invitation from our pro-life friend, Dr. Orestes Monzon, on Family Life.


The Philippine Heart Center in celebration of The Heart Month and 35 years of Service to the Filipino People invites you to a Symposium on Family and Life on February 9, 2010 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, DAPA Hall Philippine Heart Center, East Avenue, Quezon City.

Programme

8:00-9:00 AM Registration

9:00-9:15 Welcome Ceremonies
Dr. OP Monzon
AM Moderator: Ms. Emilia P. Olbes

9:15-10:00 Talk I
“Life and Love”
Fr. James Mc Tavish, FMVD
Loyola House of Studies
University of Santo Tomas

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15-11:00 Talk II
“Why me ?” The Real Meaning of Suffering
Dr. Edna Garayblas-Monzon
Department of Bioethics
University of Santo Tomas

11:00-12:00 Panel Discussion & Open Forum
Panel: Fr. James Mc Tavish, Dr. Edna G. Mnzon,
Dr. Angelita Miguel Aguirre, Dr. Minerva Calimag
Ms. Letty Kuan, Moderator

12:00-1:00 Lunch
PM Moderator: Dr. Florimond Garcia

1:00-1:45 Talk III
Love is Worth Waiting For
Fr. Joel Jayson
Ministry for Family and Life
Archdiocese of Manila

1:45-2:30 Talk IV
Raising Children with Values in a
Secular World
Dr. Eligio Maghirang
De La Salle University

3:30-4:30 Panel Discussion & Open Forum
Panel: Fr. Joel Jayson, Dr. Eligio Maghirang,
Dr. William and Salve Olalia
Dr. Florimond Garcia, Moderator

4:30 Closing Ceremony
Dr. OP Monzon, Ms. Jean Wong


INVITED PANELISTS/MODERATORS

Dr. Angelita Miguel Aguirre
Dr. Minerva Calimag
Dr. Florimond Garcia
Ms. Letty Kuan
Dr. William Olalia
Dr. Salve Olalia

Orestes P. Monzon, MD
Symposium Director


REGISTRATION FEE

Registration: PHP 600.00 only

Catholic Physicians’ Guild of the Philippines
Members: PHP 500.00 only

Free Admission to Registered
PHC Employees
Call PHC HRD Ms. J. Wong

For paid registrants:
Registration fee include Lunch,
Coffee, Tea and Certificate.

Open to the Public
Interested persons may call:
PHC Nuclear Medicine (Edith)
925.2401 Local 2165
cell: 0917.7960900
email: voices4life@gmail.com

Seats are limited.
Please register today.

INVITED SPEAKERS

James Mc Tavish (jamesmctavishfmvd@yahoo.co.uk) is a Verbum Dei Catholic priest. Graduating in medicine from Cambridge University, England (1992) he specialized in Pediatric Plastic surgery before leaving everything behind to follow the call of the Lord. He had further studies in Moral Theology and Bioethics in Rome and is currently teaching at the Graduate School and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Santo Tomas and the Loyola School of Theology. He is thankful to God for the mission in the Philippines, with a dedication to preach the Word of God through retreats and recollections and the formation of the lay for their mission of evangelization. He is trying hard to learn Tagalog.

Edna Garayblas Monzon (ednamonzon@yahoo.com) earned her medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas. She was trained in the field of Heart Diseases at the Philippine Heart Center and at the Hopital Cardiovasculaire I de Lyon in France. She had an intensive post graduate training in the field of Bioethics at Baylor Medical College in Houston Texas and Health Care Ethics at St. Louis University in Missouri. She is at present, a Professor and Chair of the Department of Bioethics at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Santo Tomas.

Joel Jayson (frajoel@mydestiny.net) is a Catholic priest assigned at the Family and Life Ministry of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Eligio Maghirang (maghirange@dlsu.edu.ph) finished his medical degree from De La Salle University and residency in Emergency Room Medicine at the Makati Medical Center. He has a certification program for Health Care Ethics at the National Catholic Bioethics Center. He is presently connected with Makati Medical Center and Asian Hospital. He teaches at De La Salle University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology . He is happily married with three daughters and two sons. His interests include practical shooting in paintball and airsoft wargames, kendo, mountaineering, hiking, automobiles. Add classical and jazz music.


“You give but little when you give of your material possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." - Kahlil Gibran

Choosing Christ without Demanding Change

This is a newsletter article written by Josh Glaser for Regeneration Ministries.


Sexual sin has been tenacious in my life. I remember my very first night at a Regeneration gathering—sharing that I wanted to “get in, get better, and get out because I have work to do for the Lord.” I had no idea how deeply my sexual sin ran, and I had no idea how long freedom would take.

We live in a consumer-driven culture,and as such our mindset about nearly everything is from the perspective of being consumers: What does this offer me? Is this a good deal for my money (or time, or energy, etc.)? What do I get out of this? If we don’t like this show, we turn the channel. If we don’t like our neighbors, we build a fence. If we don’t like the pastor’s preaching, we find a new church.

But pursuing sexual wholeness is a journey, and a long one at that. This doesn’t fit well into our what does this offer me mindset.

Sexual sin is not the next door neighbor of sexual purity, addiction is not the neighbor of freedom, and brokenness is not the neighbor of wholeness. Moving from one to the other can be a lengthy trek. When the Jews escaped Egypt, they were not yet home. They were free, but they weren’t free like those who have a home are free. In fact, they longed at times to return to slavery in Egypt—it felt more familiar and more secure to them than following God.

In between where we were and where we’re headed we encounter desert, waiting, battle, hunger, and pain. Sometimes these are in the form of powerful and soothing temptations: I can’t resist this forever, he/she understands me like nobody else does, I’ll just give in this one last time so I can get some sleep, or No one will find out. Sometimes these are in the form of vast amounts of space once filled with the excitement and pleasure of our sin. And sometimes these are in the form of new challenges—areas of growth we never dared walk through before—perhaps in the area of our relationships, or how we see our pasts, or how we take responsibility for our lives.

An added challenge are the many voices around us saying that if we’re experiencing desert it means we’re on the wrong track. They beckon us back into slavery, saying pornography doesn’t hurt anyone, some marriages simply don’t work, homosexual men and women cannot change, all of this sexual purity stuff is antiquated and repressive. We must hold to One stronger than the voices around us.


Obeying Without Condition

In the book of Daniel when three Jewish boys were given the choice by king Nebuchadnezzar to worship a false god or be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, they responded:

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16 – 18, NAS)

These three boys had been stripped of their home and taken into captivity in Babylon. They were stripped of their Hebrew names (Hananiah means YAHWEH is gracious, Mishael means Who is like God, and Azariah means YAHWEH has helped) and given Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (meaning Command of Aku [Babylonian moon god], Who is like Aku, and Servant of Nebo [Babylonian god of wisdom], respectively). But when given the choice to bow under pressure to another god, they said no. Who would have blamed them if they had bowed? After all, they would have only been assenting outwardly; inwardly they would have remained believers in the one true God, right?

They lead the charge for us. They submitted themselves (including their bodies) to obedience whatever the cost, no matter how God pulled through for them. Like them, we choose obedience to Christ no matter what, however foolish our choice appears to the world around us. And like Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, we do not need to give an answer concerning this matter when voices around us tempt us to give in.

Our obedience is not based on what we expect Him to do for us. Too many have forsaken following Christ when they did not receive from Him what they expected when they expected it. This is an attitude of entitlement, a consumer mentality. Our first question is not whether or not we will choose to change our behaviors or attractions or temptations, but whether or not we will choose Christ.

I remember talking with Jeff Johnston (who was on our staff for several years) after yet another sexual fall. I was discouraged and questioning whether or not I’d ever be able to walk in consistent freedom. He responded, “Well, what are you going to do, give up?” It was a clarifying question for me—the choice was that clear: continue to pursue Christ and His healing or forsake Him and give my life over to sexual sin. I knew what I wanted to do.


Offering Our Small 'Yes'

Once we’ve decided we are going to pursue Christ no matter what, most of us still face the daily battle with sexual urges and desires that do not match up with this decision. And if we end up returning to our sin, we question our sincerity.

After defeat, it’s common for men and women to respond by making a ‘big decision’ to overcome all over again. They rededicate their lives to Christ or ‘repent’ more fervently. There were times for me when I wondered whether or not I was really a Christian; I’ve met many who wrestle with this based on repeated defeats with sin.

For ten years of my sexual addiction, into the first few years of recovery, it seemed I could not say no to certain temptations. I didn’t want to admit this to myself at first—it was humiliating, frightening, and it didn’t fit too well with my understanding at the time of how my Christian life was supposed to be going. But time and time again, my actions showed me this was true.

Though the ‘big decision’ to follow Christ with one’s sexuality has been made, our wills aren’t yet big enough to handle the big decision. Our wills have become weakened with every yes to sin, and they seem to be powerless to say no when temptation comes. When we hear the justification “This will be the last time,” deep down we know it’s not true. Giving in this time makes our wills even less able to refuse sin next time, less willing to say yes to God.

Here it can be helpful to start with smaller decisions, smaller yes’s to God. As Jesus said to the Pharisees at the beginning of His ministry, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). We do this initially by offering what we can to keep with repentance, not what we can’t. Later in Matthew, Jesus says that if your hand, foot, or eye causes you to stumble, to cut it off or pluck it out (Matthew 18:8,9). He makes this personal. He doesn’t say someone else ought to cut off our hand if they see it’s causing us to sin. Why not? Because He is after more than just outward obedience, He is after our hearts as well, and avoiding those things that cause us to stumble is an act, however small, that comes from our hearts.

If your behavior has shown that you cannot refrain from looking at pornography on-line, you can’t say no to his/her advances, or you can’t stop calling the chat line for sex, then perhaps these yeses are too big for your will right now. This isn’t an excuse because you can offer your smaller ‘yes’ to God: install a good Internet filter (or get rid of your computer), make it your decision to never be alone with him/her so his/her advances won’t come your way, have the phone company block the chat line number so you can’t call. These are just examples of some smaller yes’s. There are so many more.

Early in my journey, I had to take a number of steps like these: I had a roommate hold my credit cards so I couldn’t use them to buy pornography; I had certain phone number prefixes blocked on my phone; and I committed to weekly participation in a support group and daily phone calls to an accountability partner. I’ve known others who have given up driving to and from work, others who chose never to go to certain parts of town, some who sent out e-mails to past lovers telling them politely but firmly to never contact them again.

A small yes offered to God is no small thing. We begin where we are; we cannot begin where we aren’t. And the small yes helps build our will to be able to offer a larger yes along with more and more of ourselves—heart, soul, mind, and body—to God. And as Dallas Willard puts it in Renovation of the Heart, God “is sensitive to the slightest move of the heart toward Him.”


Consecration to God

An interesting thing happens for those who commit to follow Christ no matter what, taking small but definitive steps to walk out that commitment — they change. Frequently, the change starts somewhere differently than they’d imagined. The late John White, in his book Eros Redeemed discusses how God’s priorities for changing us are often not the same as our own. He likens it to when a person is brought into the hospital with critical wounds—the triage doctors and nurses have to decide what is most vital and where they will begin focusing their efforts.

Over the years, some who have come to our ministry came wanting their same-sex attractions to go away, or to have their marriage restored, or to find freedom from habitual sexual sin, or to no longer bend into other men or women. Instead they found that God began working in a different area of their lives: helping them to renounce self-hatred; calling them to put down their masks of “good Christian”; gently inviting them to face the abuse of their past with Him; bidding them to forsake pride and isolation. There have been a myriad of issues where God has been at work.

Yes, the journey God has for you will lead to victories along the way, and so sometimes there is great joy! But your journey may also lead to an empty place, a desert, just like it did for the Jewish people so many years ago. In Gerald May’s book Addiction and Grace, he writes:

Consecration means dedication to God. It occurs when we claim our deepest desire for God, beneath, above,and beyond all things. Everything we do involves some kind of dedication. When we simply try to reform a troublesome addiction, our struggle is dedicated to minimizing the pain that addiction causes us and others. But in consecration we dedicate our struggle to something more; consecration is our assent to God’s transforming grace, our commitment homeward.

When we consecrate this journey to God, everything takes on new meaning. Our victories and our failures alike become opportunities to revel in God’s grace; resisting temptation and leaving a desire unmet become acts of worship; the objects of our temptation become those we fight for not against; and the journey itself—however long it takes and no matter how outwardly successful it may or may not seem—becomes a journey between Father and child.