Brighter Days II - 21st anniversary of CFC in Quezon Province

Another great day for CFC!

Date- Oct 21, 2007

Venue- Alcala Sports Complex, Lucena City

Event- 21^st Anniversary of CFC in Quezon Province

Amidst cloudy skies, thunderstorms and a short downpour, about 6,000 strong CFC members and their families attended the 21st year Anniversary celebration of CFC in Quezon Province. To kick off this year’s event, a motorcade went around the city of Lucena. The Alcala Sports Complex was the venue for this year’s grand anniversary. The celebration at the venue was heralded by cheers and chants from each of the 6 sectors.

CFC Quezon is composed of more or less 12,000 active members. The members of the Governance Team are;

Jun Oabel- Area Director
Benjie De Ocampo- Mission and Evangelization
Eric Oliveros- Family Ministries
Paul Pinera- Pro Life and Tekton Guild
Raul Tolentino- Gawad Kalinga
Andy Alquiros- Social Ministries and Special Ministries
Rene Martinez- sits as an Ex Officio member and handles Pastoral Formation.

The Spiritual Director of CFC-Quezon, Monsignor Dennis Imperial officiated in this year’s anniversary mass. In his homily, he spoke about the importance of prayer. He exhorted everyone to be consistent in their prayer time. His reminder to all is to always be; “manatiling mananalig”.

During the agape lunch, different Family Ministries entertained the crowd with their colorful presentations. The weather lifted shortly after lunch, giving way to a beautiful afternoon of thanksgiving and fellowship. The program proper started with an Anniversary Message from our Brother Joe Tale . The highlight of the event was the Field Demonstration competition of the different sectors. Everyone eagerly looked forward to the grand raffle. Various prices were given out. The major prize was a motorcycle unit. The afternoon ended with a spirit filled Praise fest. Indeed GOD has blessed our brothers and sisters in the province of Quezon with 21 colorful years. Hallelujah!

The pics:

Willie and Teresing Alquiros, the original couple who started CfC Lucena. STILL with CfC!

Thanks goes out to Mrs. Marivie Dalman who supplied the pictures and great write-up!

A Request...

Those of you who took pictures at the GK1World event at Mall Of Asia, can you please send me pictures so we can share with those who weren't able to make it?

idotrcfc@gmail.com

Thank you!

Brighter Days

I am sharing tidbits I've received in my email today.

First is the official statement of CFC Southern Leyte.



The PDF file can be downloaded HERE.

Direct link:
http://www.zshare.net/download/45471848089c97/

Please share with all our concerned brothers and sisters.

Up next is East B's Evangelization and Pastoral Congress Assembly.

They have their own write-up =)

Truly as a fitting title in the last Ugnayan issue, "the Sun Rises In The East”, It always does! East B Sector, in particular, magnificently rises above the difficulties and challenges that had gripped our beloved Community in recent times brought about by leadership crisis.

Many have thought, albeit erroneously, that because of residency and strong presence in East B territory of the two top CFC leaders who resigned from the Council (Bro Frank & Bro Lachie), the sector was heading for a serious rift among its closely-knit members to spell doom for its existence.

But God has shown once again His benevolence and gracious love to His special children in the East! On October 14th, Sunday, East B Sector successfully held its Evangelization and Pastoral Congress Assembly at Marist School in Marikina . No less than the youngest International Council member, Bro. Melo Villaroman Jr., and his indefatigable wife, Nini, graced the occasion and were completely awed and blessed by the throngs of joyful leaders and members who filled the Marist School Gym to the rafters. They came in droves all the way from Montalban/San Mateo in the North and from Antipolo in the South to join their Lower Antipolo/Marikina brethren chanting a common cry: “Solid, Solid, Solid!”

It was indeed a feastful day of merriment and renewed camaraderie never before experienced by God’s East B Army! God has allowed all things for a purpose. For East B, it is a prodding to move on holding hands, surge forward together with joy and gladness in serving our only Lord!

“Solid, Solid, Solid!”

Sounds like a fitting battlecry, right?

Here are the pics:







Lastly, I'd like to direct your attention to the CFC North B blog for pictures from the 2007 GK1World event at Mall of Asia. I hope many of you attended, and if you did, please share your experiences in our forums.

Roots

Just a short post for today; a little something that gives us an idea how and when CfC got started.

Hint: The first page contains the most important information.








UPDATE:

Download the PDF document HERE.

An Evening With Bishop Gabby

I'd like to ask for your help in emailing this circular to all concerned CFC members. I was told that there seems to be a problem with CFC server that is handling the email forwarding, as some have received this and others haven't. Lets all step up and give them a little assistance, please forward it to all your friends and family in CFC.

You can download the PDF file HERE.

Many thanks.

ps

Just to clarify, this is a press release, not a council statement. =)

Commenting

Hey commenters, I'd like to request that you take the time to include a name/pseudonym when you make comments. It doesn't have to be your real name, just something that you identify yourself with. Anonymous comments without even a nickname are a bit hard to keep track of.



Thanks!

GK1World at the Mall of Asia (MOA)

Please join us in making the "Salo-Salo" with GK partners and kapitbahayan/beneficiaries a truly enjoyable evening on Friday, Oct. 26, at the start of the GK1World at the Mall of Asia (MOA)

After the salo-salo from 5:30 -8:00 pm, HOLD and our brothers comprising The Second Vision Band (they played at the Shindig) will jointly transform the place into an evening of Saya and Sayaw with GK partners, friends and our brothers and sisters. In short, dancing into... retro, ballroom, line dancing, maski-pops, macarena, boogie, reggae... be in your flat or comfortable shoes /sandals (pavers kasi ang floor)

(Thanks to Mina for the text =)

See you guys tonight, the talk on the forums is, wear orange, red, or blue. =)

A response to Fortes in Fide by Manny Hermano/FP

I posted it in the forums for discussion.


Direct link:
http://defendingcfc.phpbbweb.com/viewtopic.php?p=250&mforum=defendingcfc#250

15....

Days? Weeks? Months? Years???

You be the judge:


Talk about having to read the fine print. Sheesh.

Thanks goes out to the eagle eyed reader who emailed this to me. Keep it up!

LOL

LOL = Laughing Out Loud, an internet related term describing laughter and mirth.

Ok, so a little bit of detective work and reader assistance got me to that FFL Banana Split article again. It was posted on their Multiply site yesterday, but it has since been removed. I wondered why, but then again...I think I know.

Luckily, it was not only copy-pasted here on the blog, we also found an FFL Newsletter where it was included as an article. It's a 4-page document that you can download HERE.

Instant gratification on the pertinent pages, it is the Strong Coffee, Proverbial Banana Split article:

I think we have to make a point abundantly clear here in case anybody is foggy on the idea. The FFL IS A SEPARATE ENTITY. I am going to make the assumption that they don't understand it yet, because if I were to consider the alternative reasons why they keep insisting they are still CfC, I'd have to think of terms like...misleading, deceiving, and fraudulent. I'd have to think that the only reason the keep saying they are still CfC is to poach CfC members into their own fold. I mean, after all, they have tried to start their own corporation already, they have their own offices, and even collect their own tithes.

Let me direct you to the International Statutes of CfC, AS APPROVED BY THE VATICAN. You can download the whole document HERE.

They say:

Some people are peddling lies that while there was only one CFC before the split, after the split there came about two – CFC and FFL. The reason for this, they say, is that FFL has “abandoned” its CFC covenant. Thus the fallacy concludes CFCFFL is not CFC; it is only FFL.

To that, I ask them to read this:


Ok? Is that clear? Or how about this:

I'll quote a couple of points:

"Ongoing disruption of good order in the community." "Such termination of membership is decided and implemented by the Chapter head...and will be deliberated on and decided by the succeeding higher levels of leadership...all the way up to the CFC international Council."

Now is THAT clear?

Lets continue...


This should make it crystal clear who each country's CFC structure answers to:


This too:
And the KICKER:

I draw your attention to 7.21 Unity; 7.22 Uniformity, and most importantly, 7.221 Concretely.

Looks like the FFL will have to do something about their logo.

Lets go on to the fun part, Finances.


I quote again:

"...with proper financial stewardship being under the oversight of the CFC International Council."

Note I left a part about accrediting CFC groups, just in case we're not really, really clear.

So, these are the Vatican approved Statutes.



You know, just in case there was a question of authority. =)

Is It Just Me?

Or did an entry in the FFL's Multiply blog on how there has supposedly always been TWO CfC's just disapear? Did any one else see that?

UPDATE:

I just remembered, luckily a commenter quick on his keyboard was able to copy paste it into a comment here.

I wonder why they removed it?

And Another...

CFC Recognition from the Archbishop of Newark, NJ.








Once again this speaks for itself, but I was requested to include a message from our NJ brethren:

Dear Brethren C.D.,

I saw a commenter in your web site mentioning the existence of the CFC Recognition from the Archbishop of Newark NJ. With your passion for truth, it's only a matter of time before you would eventually get a copy. If your discernment leads you to publish it, also feel free to include this message and the message below from our Area Director Osky Banting. We are in faith that with God's grace, we don't impart any undue mis-impression.

God bless!

In Christ, Marlon Baculio
Temp Chapter Servant / CFC-NJ North


-----Original Message-----
From: Osky Banting
...

My Dear Brethren in Christ,

Please bear in mind that this accreditation and affirmation MUST ONLY be used to set clarity that will differentiate us from FFL rather than to invoke division.

We will continue to be brothers and sisters to everyone in FFL through our Christian ways, thoughts and deeds. I respectfully enjoin every leaders in our CFC community to hold yourselves responsible for the actions of your respective members.

Peace in the Love of Christ,
Brod Osky

-----Original Message-----
From: Marlon Baculio
Sent: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 7:16 pm
Subject: [CFC-NJ North] CFC Recognition - Archbishop of Newark

Brothers and Sisters,

Attached is the CFC recognition from the Archbishop of Newark NJ. As you read this, be mindful that the work of evangelization is still through the power of the Holy Spirit so we should always exude Its fruits which are Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

We pray that other people who have genuine intentions will also be used as instruments to spread the Good News.

God bless us all.

Marlon & Riza / CFC-NJ North

Archdiocese of Caceres Circular

I believe it speaks for itself.

Monday Overdose

Break out your high blood pressure medicine people, no matter what brand.

Thanks to the our blood pressure monitoring blog friend Jiggs, we now have a clearer murkier picture of the FFL's stand on the matters we've brought up.

It's vague and it's evasive, but hey, it's something to chew on this Monday.

From: Easter Group <eastergroup@gmail.com>
To: "jiggs842002@yahoo.com" <jiggs842002@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 7:08:08 PM
Subject: questions on Truth Series 4.16 and 4.17

Hello Jiggs,

Peace be with you.

The responses to your queries of the 8th of October are embedded within your own e-mail as seen below.

God bless.

Moderator
CFC-FFL

At 12:57 AM 10/8/2007, you wrote:
Good day to you bro. frank and to FFL brethren,

i am compelled to write you regarding your most recent Truth Series 4.16 and 4.17. allow me to ask questions regaring these matters - on pro-life and partnerships wtih Pfizer and Wyeth, etc.


on Truth Series 4.16, Oct.05 2007
1. The sole culpability of Bro. Frank seems to be the only focus of the latest IC statement regarding contraceptives and the pharma companies. It completely misses the point that the IC is a fraternal and collegial body that decides on the basis of consensus and unanimity. The fact is there are at least 3 other members of the present Council who were also part of the old Council. They were Joe Tale, Joe Yamamoto, and Rouquel Ponte. The selective blame seemed to point to Frank. Was it not Joe Yamamoto who spearheaded the drive to involve the pharma companies as Head of Gawad Kalusugan?

my question and comment:
1. bro.frank, during the conception of the partnership, did you pose an opposition to the partnership with these pharmas? since this will contradict to the posture of CFC as being pro-life, did you not try your very best to dissuade the other members of the council not to push through with the partnership? did anyone in CFC try to check if these pharmas are selling contraceptives? even if you are outvoted, then in 2005 you must have raised hell and high waters in opposing the partnership. why only now?

CFC-FFL response: As the Executive Director of CFC and Chairman of the GK Board, Frank was never in on the details about the partnerships with the pharmas conceived and executed by Joe Yamamoto and Tony Meloto. His role in the signing was to witness the proceedings. While he does not disclaim responsibility for being part of this apparent mistake, he has in fact lamented for this act of silent assent and submitted his resignation in acceptance of his failure to stem the tide of infidelities to the vision and mission of CFC. The point is does sole culpability always rest on him when there are point persons in the Council primarily accountable for the project? Will the burden of accountability always rest on Frank when the council is undoubtedly a collegial and fraternal body where the members of the body operate as equals? The concept of command responsibility may inhere in groups which are led. However, in a collegial and fraternal body, the fault of one is the fault of all.

2. We have it from Bro. Frank himself that he did not actively support the program to the extent that the IC has dramatized it. As Chair of GK then, he was not directly involved in the actual operations of Gawad Kalusugan which is still headed by Dr. Joe Yamamoto.

i wish FFL never said this. to me this is a clear case of washing of hands.

CFC-FFL response: As we said in the above reply, what may be misplaced is placing the sole culpability on Frank when the Council is a collegial and fraternal body. Even pastorally, it operates as a household which is not led and each member is the pastor of another

AS WE SPEAK, CONGRESS IS POISED TO DELIBERATE AND POSSIBLY APPROVE AN APPROPRIATION OF 2 BILLION PESOS FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF FREE CONTRACEPTIVES. AS IN THE PAST, WE HAVE TO FIGHT THIS MOVE AS PART OF OUR COVENANT AND ADVOCACY. WE HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THAT THE FIGHT GOES BEYOND CFC AND GK AND THE PHARMAS BECAUSE IT IS A FIGHT TO PROTECT THE SACREDNESS AND DIGNITY OF LIFE ITSELF.

Congress is mentioned here. may i ask if w can count on ms.cynthia villar to oppose the appropriation for this. or will it be the opposite?

are you aware that ms.cynthia villar is a sponsor/author of HB4110/3773 which CFC/Teodora/FEED vehemently oppose? let me answer it for you - YES, YOU ARE AWARE! then why partner with ms.cynthia villar?

CFC-FFL response: Your reaction seems to be a misapplication of the issue and using the argument tangentially to involve another party. Ms. Villar's involvement in being part of the so-called bill may have escaped notice and we shall be reaching out to make the stand of CFC-FFL known to her. In the particular case at hand, it also behooves the IC to rescind the GK partnerships with the pharma companies concerned since they know now that these firms are involved in the manufacture and sale of contraceptives.

By the way, the partner of Ms. Villar is GK. Shall we also ask GK to stop its partnership with her?

Her support for this bill is because she is concerned about women issues. She, however, is pro-life. If there are things she needs to appreciate from the Catholic perspective we shall try to impart that to her. For your information, Ms. Villar is a Protestant.


on Truth Series 4.1, Oct 05 2007
3. In view of the public announcement of Tony Meloto about not discriminating about the products and services and any potential donor manufactures and/or sells, the bishops also said that if GK wants to continue said practices which go against Christian beliefs and teachings, it can do so provided it exists like any other socio-civic organization and/or NGO, but not as one linked to a faith community organization like CFC.

on the discrimination issue - i think i saw or heard one church official that the Catholic church accepts donation from PAGCOR. i am just unsure, please correct me if am wrong. i think we all know that PAGCOR runs the casinos which is against Christian teachings. again, please correct me if i am wrong.

CFC-FFL response: There are 2 points to stress here: 1. Regarding the Church official; you may have missed the last part of his statement that even though he accepts donations from PAGCOR, "the devil remains to be his enemy." 2. PAGCOR is involved in gaming activities. Gambling, per se, is an indifferent act. It becomes a wrongdoing if done in excess. It could become sinful if it ends up in families and livelihoods being destroyed and the deleterious spread effects it may have in terms of social costs.

on Truth on Contraceptives
Depo- Provera Injectable Hormonal Contraceptive..., - bought at Mercury Drug Corporation, Pasig Fun Ranch, Frontera Verde, Pasig City, September 25 , 2007, at 5:14 PM under OR # 043376
Femenal Oral Contraceptive..., - bought at Watson's, SM Supercenter Pasig (Frontera Verde), Sept 25, 2007, at 5:10PM, Inv No. 181398


FAP/FFL, i really salute you for stooping this low like buying such products just to prove your point.

CFC-FFL response: We are for truth and are factual in raising issues, unlike others who simply malign and spread disinformation. This is a reaction we take strong exception to. There is nothing wrong whatsoever in finding out if the products are still sold over the counter because the Church authorities have ruled on Aug. 28, 2007 that it expects the IC to investigate said cases. Has the IC done its supposed work and assignment from Aug. 28 to Sept. 25, the date of the purchases? Has the IC, in compliance with its promise, done due diligence during that period? Or did it take our purchase and expose' to move the IC to action? THE TRUTH HURTS, DOESN'T IT? You may have your values misplaced when you speak about being factual, maligning and spreading disinformation. The shoe seems to be on the other foot. After being caught with a bare-faced untruth, please do not reverse our roles.

but why now? why did we not check this out Sept 2005 before we even signed the MOA? is it because back then it is not an issue? CFC-

I have not seen the MOA and i am not even aware of such partnerships until now. earlier on i asked what the scope of the partnership is. i assume the partnership is to provide free or cheap medicines to our GK beneficiaries coming from these pharma companies, right?

who defines what medicines are required - i assume that it will be CFC what medicines are needed by GK or by the beneficiaries. i think these are medicines for cough, flu, colds, headaches, diarrhea, TB and for most common diseases... but i supposed CFC will not ask Depo-provera, oral contraceptives, pills from these pharmas. did we ask for depo-provera? oral contraceptives? pills? from these pharmas during the course of two years?

CFC-FFl response: Now that we both know that these pharmas do manufacture and sell artificial contraceptives, the question is what does the IC do given the stand of the Church? It seems the burden of taking action is in your hands

my last question. talk about pro-life, can you boldly state that ALL of members of FFL do not use contraceptives?

in 2004 or 2005, statistics showed that majority of CFC still use contraceptives. we could not turn the tide and ask the members to be NATURAL. we are all guilty of this. so dont put the blame and point a finger at others. you are part to blame.

CFC-FFL response: Your question can be likened to lawmakers who think that they can legislate behavior and compliance just because there is a law. The more relevant question to ask is if CFC has actively promoted the use of the pro-life practices in its activities and programs? Does it still do so up to now? The answer is yes to both questions, except that we don't know if the IC still wants to pursue this activity because as we speak, the partnerships with the pharmas still persist and exist.

in Sept 2005, when the MOA was signed you did not lift a finger. then why do it now?

CFC-FFL response: Believe this has been sufficiently replied to earlier.

i hope you will be able to shed light on my questions.

thanks and God bless.

jiggs

God bless you too.

Couple for Christ Foundation for Family and Life

Well there you have it folks.

Now for my own set of questions...

"...he has in fact lamented for this act of silent assent and submitted his resignation in acceptance of his failure to stem the tide of infidelities to the vision and mission of CFC."

From what we've already gathered in this blog, the initial decision to resign did not stem from Frank, but from Tony Meloto. Does that mean Frank was not considering his lamentations until Tony resigned? Why then and not before, if he felt the guilt of silent assent already?

"...what may be misplaced is placing the sole culpability on Frank when the Council is a collegial and fraternal body."

It seems this is a new tack the FFL is taking, the whole collegial body argument. Even taking into consideration that by all past accounts, Frank LED the council and made many decisions without consulting the council (the Teodora/Villar tie up is an example, although that can arguably be attributable to Gerry Padilla), FP himself, in his long-winded 13 page resignation letter, exhorts us to support the council wholeheartedly:

Brothers and sisters, please support the four brothers in the council. Please give them your whole-hearted support because the council also helps us to move forward in unity of heart and mind.

All major decisions are made by the assent of all, or in this case, of Frank, but his last words to all CfC members was to stand behind the remaining 4 council members, giving the impression that they have his full support, blessings, and trust in their actions in their eventual leadership role.

"Your reaction seems to be a misapplication of the issue and using the argument tangentially to involve another party."

No, I actually think it is quite clear. A partnership by any definition is a PARTNERSHIP.

"Ms. Villar's involvement in being part of the so-called bill may have escaped notice..."

I doubt this very much, but lets take their word for it for now. I'm glad we were able to help in bringing this to their attention. The question now is, will Mrs. Villar change her stand, or will FFL move its offices?

"Her support for this bill is because she is concerned about women issues. She, however, is pro-life. If there are things she needs to appreciate from the Catholic perspective we shall try to impart that to her. For your information, Ms. Villar is a Protestant."

Wow. The simple argument that the FFL is making is that explicit AND/OR implicit support for anti-life activities is (such as accepting donations of life-saving TB medicines from a pharma who supposedly distributes or makes contraceptives) is UNchristian. So her being a Protestant makes it ok? Is being pro-life an exclusive Catholic perspective? Surely the explicit support for a bill that will have a vast effect on the public distribution of contraceptives would fall under such a label as well?

And also, does the FFL now include Protestants in its ranks? Then surely, mormons should be allowed in GK sites? That is a GREAT business decision, it will certainly help swell the FFL membership roll. Dont' take my word for it though, It's best to check, you may have to be a good friend of Gerry Padilla's first. =)

1. Regarding the Church official; you may have missed the last part of his statement that even though he accepts donations from PAGCOR, "the devil remains to be his enemy."

I take this to mean that what's good for the Church isn't good for CfC, because we could say the same thing and still be vilified by the FFL.

"...Church authorities have ruled on Aug. 28, 2007 that it expects the IC to investigate said cases. Has the IC done its supposed work and assignment from Aug. 28 to Sept. 25, the date of the purchases?"

Who's to say an investigation had NOT been done? Obviously when you query the company in question about its business activities, it will take some time to research, compose, and properly document an official response and stance. Did the IC not release a statement showing their progress in looking into the matter? My point is, these are not decisions done in haste, especially after the company had responded to the matter already.

CFC Europe

Just wanted to draw your attention to the CFC Europe link added to the relevant links on the right side of the page.

Here is the url:

http://www.cfceurope.org/

and their declarations of support for the CfC.

The following local communities have opted to stay in the original Couples for Christ global community.

May God continue to shower His blessings upon us all.


Statement of CFC France



CFC FRANCE for Couples FOR CHRIST

August 9, 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all!

With apologies to Bros. Frank Padilla, Tony Borja and Ray Magno.

1 Co. 1:10 “By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, I appeal to all of you brothers, to agree in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely united, with only one thought and purpose.”

We believe that Couples for Christ is a community created by God to fulfil its mission of “families in the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the earth” and the vision of “bringing glad tidings to the poor” through rapid, massive and global evangelization.

We also believe that our “fundamental loyalty is FIRST to JESUS, NEXT to CFC and only THIRDLY to our RESPECTIVE LEADERS” as being taught to us in Talk 12 : Unity in Christ of the Foundations for Christian Living.

1 Co. 1:12 “Let me put it this way: each of you says something
different. One says, “I follow Paul”, another, “I follow Peter”, another, “I follow Christ.”

We are called Couples FOR CHRIST and it is to Jesus alone that we render our loyalty. It is for this reason that we strongly believe in the anointing of our leaders as our Lord Jesus will equip them in leading our community.

Therefore, we, the National Council of CFC France, unanimously agreed after much discernment, to recognize the present CFC structure and submit to the leadership of the International Council as endorsed by the Board of Elders.

We pray that LOVE, which is the only law of God, continue to purify us as we humbly serve Jesus in building His kingdom here on earth. “Lord, Jesus, we enthrone you. Come, take back your place!”

May God bless us all,


The CFC Council, France

Mandy Lising
Venci Arcayan
Ramie Fabian
Peter Lee
Bernie Matugas
Ilyo Mendoza
Loren Siccion



Statement of CFC Ireland



Dear Brothers and Sisters in Ireland ,

Greetings of Peace!

First, I would like to show my appreciation to our Country Head, the Governance Team and Household Leaders for making a united stand to stay and remain in CFC. The announcement made in a proper venue (GA) and appreciated by all (I think as shown on the clapping of hands) those who are present. The efforts made also to convene with Bishop Cantillas (Chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant Peoples) after our GA yesterday to hear his opinion (especially about CFC split and GK) and pastoral advice was a great opportunity to seek more the truth of the matter and what direction the two groups are heading. The most important was the Bishop giving a blessing to our group to remain faithful and united here in Ireland , to the church hierarchy and in serving God. The Bishop also instructed us to really involve our CFC Spiritual Director, Fr. Pat O’Connell (He is also the Chaplain for Filipinos) and the other Filipino Priest here in Ireland (especially Fr. Rene Esoy, SSS).

Should you want to know more about the truth and updates especially the involvement of the CBCP. Kindly search on Goggle (cbcp updates on cfc). One latest issue now if there is money issue involve in this split. If you have time to read more just CTRL+click the link below (you can click also on its relevant links):

http://defendingcfc.blogspot.com/search/label/financial

or start here: http://defendingcfc.blogspot.com/search/label/START%20HERE

Let us carry on the good work and continue to pray for peace and unity.

God bless,

Cres Abragan
CFC Ireland


Statement of CFC Switzerland National Council On Behalf of CFC Geneva and CFC Bern



10 October 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The grace and peace of Christ be with you all!

For several months now, we have witnessed a spiritual battle way beyond our imagination and unprecedented in our life as Couples for Christ. We in CFC, who were raised as God’s army to win souls for Christ, have come face to face with the evil threat of losing the souls won for Christ and fallen to the trap of Satan – the true deceiver.


The CFC National Council of Switzerland has previously positioned itself to remain impartial, not to withdraw support from our leaders, embracing all in order to shield CFC Switzerland from the crisis in the global community. Our desire was to proactively engage leaders from both parties to seek a peaceful dialogue. It is with this stance that we hoped to start the process of reconciliation and healing of our beloved community. Indeed, we have pursued our engagement with Bro Frank Padilla and with CFC International Council member Bro Roquel Ponte on 5‐6 September and 4‐5 October, respectively. It was a privilege to have had these opportunities to meet with and listen to both brothers. These dialogues helped shed some light on the many issues surrounding the crisis. The openness of both for reunification has been articulated, the reality however dictates that, just like any other process, reunification cannot be done in haste.


From the very beginning of this crisis, we tried to seek the truth and the real issues that needed to be addressed. Through it all, we remain convinced that separation, leaving our community and establishing a new group are not the solution to our predicament. It is, on the other hand, a manifestation that we are turning our back from our collective responsibility in facing the problem which is contrary to all that we have learned and preached.


Today, the four members of the SwissNC (As of 04 October 2007 – Arthur Sandoval, Edgar Quinto, Elmer Pagdilao, Oscar Cepeda) with the fraternal group of CFC Bern and CFC Geneva (which also oversees CFC Fribourg and CFC Lausanne), we are taking our stance to reinforce our support to the International Council of Couples for Christ. We choose to remain in CFC, to rise unafraid in facing the issues and resolve it from its current structure. Not because of blind obedience to our leaders, but because we want to actively participate in coming up with solutions. We believe in God’s anointing to the new members of the International Council, as we have believed and supported its past members. Our faith is in the Lord who has tasked them to work and face these challenges in our community.

Brothers and sisters, please accept our sincere apologies for falling short of your expectations as your leaders, and that decisions were not made as early as everybody expected. We, your leaders discerning with our limited wisdom and seeking the Holy Spirit, have given and will continue to give our very best to bring what is for the greater good of our community. Thank you for your patience and trust.


For our brethren in Switzerland who are discerning or have made their declaration prior to this announcement, we continue to honour you and acknowledge our deep bond as brothers and sisters. Our inclinations in the face of this crisis may differ, but our love for one another should never diminish. Let us remain allies in serving the same God and His one true Church. Let us continue to bring those who are lost back to Christ. As we sincerely serve Christ, we will certainly see vast opportunities for us to work together and that reunification may already be at hand.


Beyond our Lamentations, there are plenty of lessons that we are reminded of and can further learn in this phase of our life in CFC – servant leadership, humility, obedience, forbearance, repentance, forgiveness, and a lot more. As for St Paul, he will continue to exhort us saying, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:13). If only for these lessons that we face in this crisis, then these are indeed marvellous blessings that we can all truly be thankful for.


“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth; break into song; sing praise!” (Ps 98:4)

In service of the Lamb,
Arthur Sandoval
CFC Switzerland National Director


Statement of CFC Malta

During the first meeting which was convened yesterday to discuss the split in the CFC family, the members of the CFC Governance group took a unanimous decision that we will start a process of discernment and evaluation of the situation, remaining at this stage functioning as CFC MALTA within the authority structure of the CFC’s International Council.

MY PERSONAL PRAYER:

* Praying that the work among the poor in GK may not in any way be disrupted but intensified
* Praying that the bonding on the international level among all levels of the family ministries - especially the young - may remain intact as we all encourage unity in the Holy Spirit.
* Praying that the Church in the Philippines may act as a wise mother that cares for her quarrelling children without showing favor to one or the other.
* Praying that God gives the grace and wisdom to all to formulate emails in a way which show maximum discretion and prudence avoiding the trap of political persuasion tactics that strive to win the hearts and minds of people by portraying negatively the “other side”
* Praying that God may deliver us from all idolizing or over-extolling CFC beyond that of being one of the humble servants of the People of God, without in any way losing our focus on Jesus our one and only hope.
Praying that corporate unity may be agreed by all to be the litmus test for any ultimate authentic renewal of CFC.


Joe C Aquilina

CFC MALTA


Statement of CFC Greece

From: luis ilagan
Subject: CFC GREECE MOVE FORWARD!


Peace of Christ be with you Always!

Last Sunday was a blessed day for all of us. For me and my bethren in Greece 28th of August was the judgement day and finally thru prayers, and discernment HE lead us to stay in our mother CFC and It's Family Ministries which served as our FAMILY, HOME and SHELTER, and a VESSEL to reached our brothers and sisters to spread HIS GLORY.

We will continue our service under the umbrella of our very own CFC-IC. We loved all our Elders and it will never change, we learned so many things from them especially during the hardtimes in our service.

Nothing will change in service of CFC Greece. We will move forward! May God Bless us always in our works.

God bless,

Your Co-workers in HIS Vineyard

CFC Greece



Statement of CFC Monaco

From: Rey Vita De Jesus

Subject: cfc monaco's statement


Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,


When CFC was established in Monaco in the later part of 1996, we were so thankful to God. Since then we have given our full commitment to our community and embrased it as our way of life.

These last few months , we all know that our beloved community is going through a major crisis. And much as you wanted to insulate Europe, we are now in the midst of this chaos. It pained us so much to see you, our own elders, being in conflict with one another because we have come to love and respect you all. God only knows how much we prayed for our community to remain united. But even the Bishops have seen that there is no other option but separation. So you have asked us to discern and choose whether we wanted to stick to CFC or to join the newly founded community FFL. We have made ourselves open to both parties, allowing them to speak to us to make matters clearer. And so, on September 15, all the leaders of CFC Monaco gathered together and after a deeper discernment and a lot of prayers, we have come up with a decision.

CFC Monaco will remain faithful to CFC Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth. We will continue to give our full support to the International Council, whom we believe were legitimately voted last June 22, 2007 by the Elder's Assembly.We see no reason at all why we have to move to another community when CFC is still the same catholic community whom we joined more than ten years ago and still recognize and supported by our own Bishops and by the Vatican.

CFC has been and will always be a blessing and a gift to us by God, our Loving Father. And we will always be your loving brothers and sisters in Christ, respectful to one another.


In Christ,
CFC Monaco




Statement of CFC Belgium



Dear Bro. Rene,



It is sad to think that CFC was brought to conflict and disunity by issues that until now had not been resolved. It is also sad to think that majority of CFC members are in the position that is divisive with regard to the issues, thus making them more controversial. It appears that all of us are not yet ready to face a storm driven by conflict and disagreement.



All of us love CFC, and we believed that our leaders love and care for CFC much more. Because of this love our leaders will defend their ideas on the issues affecting the vision, mission and culture of CFC. But the problem is they have different sets of ideas, that when conflict and disagreement occurs, they have different views and ways of solving it. Some leaders thought that by stepping down it will solve some issues affecting CFC and GK. But nothing has been solved; instead it became the root to another problem. Some of our leaders think that advice from our Bishops is unnecessary, now it became part of the most serious controversy.



These concerns were tackled during the our fraternal meeting last Sunday and we are unanimous in our decision to wait; to be patient and be confident that God will intervene; that we will not join in any move that is divisive. For us, there is still hope, only if our leaders will try again and continue their dialogue in gentleness, patience and humility. We believed our leaders did try hard to settle their differences with the help of our Bishops, although it failed. Why don’t they try to have a dialogue again and set aside pride and put in the middle the One Most High, our Lord Jesus Christ and be committed in seeking a mutual and peaceful solution? And be constructive in dealing with issue, suspend any judgment, and act in a non-defensive way.



Lastly, we believed that conflict is a normal part of life in any relationship and CFC even our church is not exempted in any conflict whatsoever. CFC Belgium had lived in conflict and problems for years but we did not give up until we attain the peace that we have at present. The existing conflict and disagreement between our leaders is bothering us and in case our leaders will not give peace a chance, CFC Belgium will remain obeying and respecting the administration of the Board of Elders and their directives.



Peace is a pathway to heaven. God love CFC. Because He loves CFC, He will lay a pathway for CFC to find peace, for God wants CFC in heaven.



Let us all pray for peace and unity.

Couples for Christ Belgium

A Forum for All

Hello Brothers and Sisters, I've been meaning to do something like this for a while and I finally found the time to work on it. Consider this a test run, but I am inviting you all to check out and post on the Unofficial CFC Forum.

The direct link is here:

http://defendingcfc.phpbbweb.com/index.php?mforum=defendingcfc

It is also permanently linked on the right side of the page.

Here's a quick look at it:



UPDATE:

Some of you had trouble finding the registration screen, here it is:

http://defendingcfc.phpbbweb.com/profile.php?mode=register

If you're looking for the register link in the forum, it's on the top of the page.


The reason I thought about a forum was because I felt the comments on this blog were all quite interesting and worthy of saving in a better format. See, some comments get lost in the jumble here, as they're all in different entries and cover a wide range of topics, but the blog structure gives us no real good way to keep track of them. I've noticed many personalities here who have been very very helpful in analyzing the information that I post as well as actually supplying me with information that I didn't have yet. The forum will give us a way to keep track of them, in a format that is easy for all to follow. So, this is just to see if we have enough readers to actually constitute an online CfC community, if we do, then great, another place for CfC'ers to congregrate online, and if we don't, well at least we gave it a try. =)

Feel free to suggest forum topics, additional forum categories, and oh yeah, I'll need VOLUNTEER moderators. One last thing, it's still a free forum for now, so you'll see a few ads here and there that I have no control over.

UPDATE:

So while I was working on this entry and the forum, I had the quote book by my side. The fan blew the pages and it stopped here:

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another."

- Hebrew 10:25

I hope that's a blessing. =)

Some Explaining To Do

So...I've asked in a previous entry how an unregistered corporation goes about collecting tithes and representing themselves to their members and more importantly, to the CBCP and the Vatican.

Maybe some of you can answer that for me. Here's a little something to chew on, note the date:

Bishop Moves To Checkmate

It seems with all their talk of not taking sides, some Bishops have gravitated to the two corners of the ring.

This recent letter from Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, Bishop of Maasin and the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care Of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples (ECMI), strikes me as having a definite bias.




I quote:

By this time, you, as chaplain maybe considering the issue on which group to recognize. Certainly, we uphold the authority and responsibility of the Ordinary or his delegate, or you being delegated, to discern properly on the matter. I believe that the significant element of the ecclesial belongingness of any group or association concretely shown by its adherence to the proper ecclesiastical authority and active insertion in the local church is vital in our discernment on the matter. Sufficient information and true and reliable ones are also important element to guide the pastors and the faithful in making the proper discernment and choices. (Not intending to influence your discernment, I wish to share the information that in my diocese I would recognize and welcome the CFC-FFL of Bro. Frank Padilla.)

In this regard, I am introducing and endorsing to you TONY & RUBY BORJA now with the CFC-FFL Regional Coordinator for Europe to present to you and to the CFC members and others the new association. This will perhaps contribute to the discernment of the CFC members at large.

I don't see how you can specifically say that you are not intending to influence a decision and immediately after share how YOU would decide. Also, if the good Bishop endorses an FFL couple to present, shouldn't he also present a couple from the CfC to help "contribute to the discernment" to be at the very least....FAIR?

As the Spiritual Adviser to the CfC, it is dissapointing to see Bishop Reyes continue to make statements and comments that appear to be disparaging to his charges.

Bishop Reyes clearly informed the Bishops that the elections of the 7 Council of Elders was held despite his and two other bishops’ advice to postpone and settle the conflict on the GK issue. He explicitly said that as the Spiritual Director of the CBCP, his direction was not heeded at all. The consensus of the Assembly was that each Bishop/Ordinary will deal with the CFC issue/conflict in his respective jurisdiction. Bishop Reyes was to provide the Bishops with information on the matter.

Shouldn't he now be trying to protect that body of devoted Christians whose care was placed in his hands? If it was a matter of disobedience (still), is he now acting vindictive and not giving the IC and the CfC as a whole a chance to earn forgiveness, IF it is even needed?

Now, I say 2 corners of the ring because even now, there are Bishops who feel the CfC was justified in its actions and recognize only CfC. Their actions seem to contradict each other, which is very disturbing because the CBCP has always chosen to project a united stance.

Seeing as Bishop Reyes is the CfC's only assigned Spiritual Adviser, how are we to act if he appears to be leaning in support of the FFL? How do we move on?

Like in the game of chess...DIAGONALLY?