Church Leaders Join Efforts to Bring Palparan to Justice Church leaders have called on their faithful to help in hunting down retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. Palparan, charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection with the disappearance of the two missing University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, remains in hiding after a court ordered his arrest last December 20.Speaking in a press conference, Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza, General Secretary of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) said their Church has also experienced the anguish of losing pastors and lay leaders in Palparan’s ‘gruesome litany of death.’In the same vein, Rev. Fr. Lorenzo Anievas of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and governor general of the National Priest Organization (NPO), related how their members became victims of violence perpetrated by state agents. Italian Priest's Killing in Philippines Revives Anti-Violence Campaign (07 November) The killing of a well-loved priest in southern Philippines has inspired the revival of a campaign to end political killings, supported by international faith and human rights groups, church workers said. "Those behind the killing of Father Fausto Tentorio may have wanted to create a chilling effect on those committed to the cause of peace and justice. But the impact was otherwise," Sister Elsa Compuesto, executive secretary of the Sisters Association of Mindanao, told ENInews in an interview on 4 November. Church wants End to Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines (21 October 2011, Amsterdam) The newly-founded Filipino Parish Council Netherlands (FPCNL) urged the Aquino government to stop the extrajudicial killings of members of the church. The call was made by Rev. Father Cesar Taguba, chairperson of FPCNL during the memorial mass for murdered Bishop Alberto Ramento held in the Old Catholic Church in Amsterdam. According to Taguba, at least 30 church workers and leaders had been killed from January 2001 to October 2011, most of them members of the United Methodist Church, Philippine Independent Church and United Church of the Christ in the Philippines. Justice Secretary Pledges Support to Bishop Ramento’s Case (18 October 2011) Justice Secretary Leila de Lima declared support to the quest of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente to give justice to the kiling of Bishop Alberto B. Ramento. De Lima made the statement before a group of bishops and priests who visited her for a dialogue in the afternoon of October 18, 2011. Bishop Joselito Cruz, the Church's General Secretary, expressed appreciation to De Lima saying he puts high hopes to the Justice Secretary's words. Bishop Cruz led the group of clergy in an hour-long meeting with Secretary De Lima.
Memorial Mass for Bishop Alberto B. Ramento and other Church Martyrs Held in Amsterdam A solemn memorial mass “Remembering and Honoring Bishop Alberto B. Ramento and All Other Church Martyrs in the Movement for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in the Philippines”, was held October 2, at the Old Catholic Church in Amsterdam. The mass marked the 5th anniversary of the extrajudicial killing (EJK) of IFI (Iglesia Filipina Independiente-Philippine Independent Church) Bishop Ramento on October 3, 2006 at his rectory in Tarlac. The mass was organized by the Filipino Parish Netherlands (FPNL) and the Old Catholic Church (OCC). Philippine Church Seeks Support for Probe into Bishop's Murder Manila, Philippines, 11 October (ENInews)--A homegrown Philippine church is seeking international backing to help pressure the government to re-investigate the unresolved murder of a bishop five years ago. "We continue to ask our partner churches -- such as the Anglican, Episcopal and Old Catholic Churches -- in the international community for solidarity and support for the case," Bishop Ronelio Fabriquier of the Philippine Independent Church told ENInews in an interview in early October.
Bishops Call for a Stop to Large-Scale Mining Operations; Repeal of Mining Law The Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF) issued a statement at the end of the two-day mining forum of the organization's Southern Luzon Regional Conference in Legaspi on October 6, 2011. The organization of Catholic and Protestant bishops urged the government to repeal the Mining Act of 1995 and to issue a moratorium on large-scale mining. Liturgical Commemoration and Forum Mark Fifth Death Anniversary of Bishop Alberto Ramento The Iglesia Filipina Independiente marked the fifth death anniversary of its ninth Obispo Maximo, the Most Reverend Alberto B. Ramento, on October 3, 2011 at the Church’s National Cathedral, with a renewed call for justice.
Council of Bishops Meets, Tackles Current Issues and Church Concerns The Supreme Council of Bishops (SCB) convened at the Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua, Presentacion, Camarines Sur, for the resumption of its regular meeting on 12–15 September 2011. The first day of the meeting started with a parade around the town participated by the bishops and members of the congregation which was immediately followed by a Solemn Eucharist presided by the Obispo Maximo, The Most Reverend Ephraim S. Fajutagana.
IFI Commemorates 71st Death Anniversary of First Obispo Maximo A Memorial Mass for the 71st death anniversary of the first Obispo Maximo of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, the Most Reverend Gregorio L. Aglipay, was held at Aglipay Shrine in the Diocese of Batac on September 1, 2011. The solemn service was officiated by the Most Reverend Ephraim S. Fajutagana, 12th Obispo Maximo. “It is the spirit of Gregorio Aglipay – the spirit that seeks justice as the foundation of peace in a society that is battered by aggression and violence - that every member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente must strive to live out”, Bishop Fajutagana urged the clergy and congregation in his homily.
South Central Luzon Conference Celebrates 109th IFI Proclamation Anniversary The Diocese of Romblon and Mindoros hosted the South Central Luzon Conference celebration of the 109th proclamation anniversary of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente on August 2 and 3, 2011. The occasion has gathered in the municipality of Odiongan, Romblon around 5,000 clergy and faithful coming from the seven dioceses constituting the South Central Luzon Conference.
Church Launches National Task Force Bayles Against Impunity Bishops, priests and lay people from the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCC), United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR), and Iglesia Filipina Independiente trooped to the Department of Justice on June 14, 2011 in an Advocacy March to follow-up with Secretary Leila de Lima the case of Brother Benjamin Bayles. Brother Bayles, a lay leader and activist from Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, was a victim of extra-judicial killings.
12th Obispo Maximo Installed into Office Amidst jubilant joy and singing of about two thousand clergy and faithful, His Eminence, The Most Reverend Ephraim S. Fajutagana, was formally installed and invested as the 12th Obispo Maximo of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in a solemn rite held at the National Cathedral on June 11, 2011, the Feast of Saint Barnabas, the Apostle.
IFI Elects 12th Obispo Maximo Delegates to the 12th Triennial General Assembly of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente voted unanimously into office as Obispo Maximo the former General Secretary, the Rt. Rev. Ephraim S. Fajutagana, on 10th May 2011. The Obispo Maximo-elect has been in ministry since 1977, having served the Iglesia Filipina Independiente for a total of some thirty four (34) years before his election to the highest office of the Church. |
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