Don’t use village roads; CA confirms injunctive relief

In resolving the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the City of Parañaque and “surprisingly” Romulo Bersamina, et al, the Special Tenth Division of the Court of Appeals in a Resolution on June 22, 2006, ruled that:

“We have perused with care the records of the present appeal and simply found nothing therein that would persuade Us to deviate from the conclusion earlier arrived at by the Eighth Division of this Court in the Resolution sought to be set aside or reconsidered.”

It will be recalled that when Parañaque Mayor Jun Bernabe opened the access roads of the subdivision, homeowners challenged the validity of Ordinance 00-15(672), asserting that homeowners are the beneficial owners of the roads and open spaces privately titled to the developer, having paid for them when they purchased their properties. As such, the local government cannot simply take over private property without due process.

The Parañaque City government was prevented from opening the gates of BF Homes Parañaque village gates after the umbrella village association obtained a writ of preliminary injunction from the Court of Appeals (CA).

The CA 8th Division ruled in favor of the United BF Homeowners’ Associations Inc. (UBFHAI), preventing Mayor Jun Bernabe from enforcing City Ordinance No. 00-15 (672), authorizing the Mayor to open to the general public privately owned subdivision roads of BF Homes, Multinational Village, Better Living and other residential subdivisions abutting barangay, city or national roads.

Due to the CA order, Bernabe, the local police from the Philippine National Police and other persons invoking authority cannot enforce the ordinance.

In issuing the injunctive relief, the CA recognizes “the authority of the UBFHAI as an entity that has continuously administered, regulated and maintained the use of the private roads inside BF Homes Parañaque Subdivision to the extent of employing security guards to man major gates, issuing passes and tickets for entry into the subdivision and charging fees set by the association,” among others.

The CA further ruled that “as owners or administrators of private roads, homeowners are entitled to continue to enjoy exclusive access therein for their own protection and security and to regulate its use by non-residents within the limit prescribed by law and administrative rules.”

The UBFHAI petition was recognized by the CA after they showed that the opening of the gates resulted in an unmitigated flow of vehicular traffic and pedestrians and proliferation of crimes that left the residents more vulnerable.

The mayor has hitched his political future to a very contentious issue (commercialization of BF Homes Subdivision) instead of keeping his electoral promise (“click” on highlighted texts) to resolve the chronic water supply shortage in the subdivision. Undoubtedly, there will be political repercussion.

U.S. bishops approve new Mass translation

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted at its biannual meeting for a new translation after a brief but vigorous debate over several small changes in wording. The 173-29 vote on the Order of the Mass was aimed at satisfying Vatican calls for a translation that’s closer to the Latin version.

The following excerpts from Whispers in the Loggia provide more details on the amendments and adaptations:

For those familiar with the cadences of the liturgy, the texts maintain notable differences from the formulae which have been in use in the United States for the last 35 years. These are best broken down into the “presidential” prayers used by the celebrant, and the “congregational” prayers of the faithful.

Among the latter, easily the most notable change is the reply “And with your spirit” to the priest’s greeting of “The Lord be with you,” which is employed at four points in the liturgy. At the beginning of the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer, “It is right to give him thanks and praise” becomes “It is right and just.”

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,” begins the people’s response before communion. However, one proposed US amendment would replace “that you should enter...” to the current “to receive you.” Its second half – “but only say the word and my soul shall be healed” – stands untouched at present.

The revised rendering of the Sanctus would begin, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts,” and the new translation of the Nicene Creed retains the word “consubstantial,” which has aroused some displeasure from a number of bishops. (An amendment to return “consubstantial” to its current “one in being” is before the BCL. All amendments, however, are subject to the line-item recognitio of the Holy See.)

The more substantive alterations from the current texts belong to the prayers of the priest. Notable among these is the new dismissal, “Go forth, the Mass is ended.” The Mysterium fidei, which in earlier drafts read “Great is the mystery of faith,” now reads simply and literally, “The mystery of faith,” and the doxology following the Lord’s Prayer is rendered as:

Deliver us Lord, we pray, from every evil,

graciously grant peace in our days

that, sustained by the help of your mercy,

we may be always free from sin

and saved from all distress,

as we await the blessed hope,

the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In preparing the various formulations, two words in the presidential prayers which have attracted considerable scrutiny were “dew” (“Make holy these gifts, we pray, by the dew of your spirit,” the proposed epiclesis of Eucharistic Prayer II) and “gaze” (as in the “serene and kindly gaze,” which remains in the finished text of the Roman Canon).

Following the debate and vote on the core text, the bishops’ agenda will turn to seven recommended adaptations for the Order of Mass for the United States.

These are: a continued increased prominence for the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water; the maintenance of two “alternative introductions” for the Penitential Rite (the current Sacramentary’s allowance for “similar words” is slated to be discontinued); seven additional formulae for the Penitential Rite; keeping the familiar four additional introductions to the Lord’s Prayer (the standard ICEL text has one); two alternate forms for the dismissal; the “insertion of a Prayer Over Already Blessed Water” for the sprinkling rite; and the addition of the popular Memorial Acclamation “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again,” which is not included in the ICEL text.

Finally, on the two words which vex an inordinate amount of people, the translation continues with the vernacular custom of English in using the words “for you and for all” in the consecration of the cup. The new text renders “so that sins may be forgiven” as “for the forgiveness of sins.”

I see many are going off about “all these adaptations.” Hate to break the news, but it seems those who are guilty of this haven’t integrated Liturgiam authenticam, manifesting carelessness with the precision of terms and, ergo, causing confusion among the faithful.

Here’s the story: as written, the bishops approved seven adaptations to the celebration of Mass in the United States. None of these are unfamiliar, but simply adding to the Ordo Missae those elements which were not included in the ICEL text.

When a word or phrase is changed here and there, that is an amendment, not an adaptation.

In light of that, quoting from the original post on Monday, the sole adaptations are: a continued increased prominence for the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water [i.e. making it part of the Order of Mass as opposed to an appendix]; the maintenance of two “alternative introductions” for the Penitential Rite (the current Sacramentary’s allowance for “similar words” is discontinued); seven additional formulae for the Penitential Rite [all of which are already familiar]; keeping the familiar four additional introductions to the Lord’s Prayer (the standard ICEL text has one); two alternate forms for the dismissal (again, the ICEL text has one); the “insertion of a Prayer Over Already Blessed Water” for the sprinkling rite; and the maintenance of “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again,” which was not included in the ICEL text.

Whereas “dew” fell, “chalice” remains. Several proposals to change the word to the current “cup” were rejected by the BCL, which expressed its preference for the rationale established by ICEL.

Several bishops also requested striking “precious” from the submitted rendering of “precious chalice” in the Eucharistic Prayers, but the committee declined these on the grounds that to do so would not be faithful to the Latin use of the term “praeclarum calicem.”

In Eucharistic Prayer IV, and at other instances in the text where ICEL rendered “unigenitus” as “Only-begotten” without adding “Son” to it, several prelates sought a change to include “Son,” which the bishops accepted.

Two bishops sought to return the phrase “for the many” to the consecration of the precious chalice. The BCL rejected the proposal given “the overwhelming view of the USCCB membership in favor of for all.”

However, the committee reply also showed Rome’s hand in noting the Holy See’s “expressed intention” to address the question in short order.

What will come of that is anyone’s guess.

Another bishop sought to have the Gloria’s rendering of peace to “all people of good will” changed to “all men.” The Committee demurred, replying that “people is the most accurate rendering of hominibus in English as spoken in the United States of America.”

In other areas, “Look with favor on your church’s offering” – a 1970 translation in Eucharistic Prayer III – is staying put, “undefiled” in the Canon becomes “unblemished,” the deacon’s pre-Gospel request won’t be “Pray, Father, your blessing,” but “May I have your blessing, Father.” And the Mortem tuam has been proposed by the USCCB as reading “We announce your death, O Lord, and proclaim your resurrection until you come in glory.”

One bishop requested to change the term “general absolution” to the “general formula of forgiveness.” His rationale said that the original text “will reinforce the misinterpretation and could lead to a further marginalization of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the lives of our people.”

The proposal was respectfully declined.

Heart Attack!

It pains me to remember those days that it has taken me this long to write down my struggle to survive when I suffered a near fatal heart attack on June 15, 2002. This is being written in grateful gratitude to my loving wife and children who sat with me in sickness and comforted me in moments of depression and nursed me back to good health.

***

Heart Attack!

The stomach ache woke me up. It was 5:30 in the morning of my 67th birthday, also our wedding anniversary. The pain in my stomach increased in intensity and frequency and my shoulders and arms felt numbed. Heart attack? Unlikely, I told myself. But it was really a heart attack. The result of the angiogram (an X-ray photograph of a blood vessel) confirmed this reality.

Doctors operated on me early Monday morning. I slept through the operation until the next day, Tuesday while doctors struggled to keep me alive.

The kind voice of a Filipino male nurse woke me up on Wednesday, assuring me that skilled doctors performed the operation successfully. He then asked me to move my fingers and legs which I did. I turned my head sideward to thank the white-clad doctor standing beside my bed but there was nobody there. Was I hallucinating?

My first struggle at recovery consisted of breathing exercises for my lungs at the hospital (the heart-lung machine takes over during operation) and I regretted having smoked many years ago. Two decades have passed since I stopped smoking but the damage to my lungs is still evident.

Recovery was painful and just as difficult.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the enlargement of prostate gland, obstructing the flow of urine. I am afflicted with this condition which is common to men 50 years old and above. Moreover, my prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was elevating with every test. Serum levels are elevated in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer and are used as a screening test for prostate cancer. And, as a result of high blood pressure, one of my kidneys was damaged while the performance of the other was way below the standard for my age. The prospect of renal failure was depressing.

As can be expected, doctors gave me a long “hit” list of food: most especially salt, meat, organ meat and pork. The “starvation” diet and daily handful of medicines resulted in a steady weight decline, from 168 lbs. going into the operation, to a shadow of myself at 139 lbs.

Doctors will always recommend, as mine did, nutritious food instead of vitamins. By and large, they don’t believe in food supplements either. Just eat the right food, they tell their patients. That’s easier said than done. As insurance against gaps in my diet (dietary imbalance), I decided to take daily multivitamin-multimineral supplement Relìv’s FibRestore, Classic, and Innergize! instead of vitamin pills which I gave away.

When I checked in for consultation two months later, the desk attendant, examining the laboratory results, exclaimed: “Who said that kidney deterioration is irreversible?” For indeed my kidney conditions have stabilized and improved in performance even as I gained the much needed weight.

Successive laboratory tests showed a declining PSA level as well. With an improving bladder extraction (urinating), the doctor discontinued prescribing one (of two) medicine.

Since late 2002 I got sick of flu only once when I run out of Relìv. The only other time was when I felt dizzy due to low blood pressure. My cardiologist promptly stopped some medicines and reduced the dosage and frequency of others.

Here is what I learned from my ordeal.

We all know that living on fat, salt and empty calories can have a range of nasty consequences, from obesity and impotence to hypertension and heart disease. People in primitive settings experience no change in blood pressure even as they age, and the reason is fairly simple: they don’t eat processed food. Their traditional diet is rice, a little meat and a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. This is the diet I am following, sans the red meat and pork. And, instead of vitamin pills, I take Relìv.

What makes processed food so harmful? Salt is the key suspect. Salt is now showered on foods at every state of processing and preparation. Read the “sodium” content on the labels of processed foods to know what I mean. As a result, most of us now consume more salt than our nutritional needs. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), more than 75% of consumed salt in the US diet comes from processed foods.

Those having stage I hypertension, defined by AHA as systolic BP of 140 to 159 mm Hg or diastolic BP of 90 to 99 mm Hg, are at risk and dietary changes are a useful first step before starting drug therapy. I was unaware that I had stage I hypertension.

AHA recommends reducing salt intake to about 1.5 g/day to effectively lower BP in older people and in those with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease and “[e]ating 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily to increase potassium intake… Although recommended potassium intake is 4.7 g/day, this amount should be reduced for patients with impaired renal function or severe congestive heart failure.”

Another harmful food is trans fats.

Trans fats are harmful to the heart because they boost bad blood cholesterol and depress the good kind. They’re found naturally in meat and dairy products like beef and milk, but people get much of their trans fats from processed foods like chips and cookies. Restaurant fare, especially things like fries and fatty desserts are often rich in trans fats.

Our modern diet causes enormous problems for our health. But taking good care of ourselves is not just a health luxury. It’s an absolute necessity if we don’t want to be held hostage by pharmaceutical drugs, blood checkups and hospital stays. Not doing this only takes away more and more of our energies, our freedoms – even our lives.

I wish relief for ailments is as simple as just taking Relìv since many ailments are caused by nutritional deficiency. I survived a seven arterial heart bypass, failing kidneys, deteriorating prostate condition and falling weight by following a healthy and active lifestyle. That is the key to my rehabilitation and the message I wish to convey. I am a living proof that it works.

The solution to our ailments is to get back into our natural state of vibrant health by “cleansing” ourselves from the inside, allowing our body to rest and heal itself. Think about it: For every disease, our immune system is triggered and it immediately starts fighting it. Our body can restore every wound, diseased organ or damaged cell that it needs to – but it cannot do that if we keep polluting it.

Today, I live from day to day. Every day I go down on my knees to ask God to give me another day. He has, for the last four years, given me a “second life.”

Number of Priests Fall

Vatican announced that that the worldwide number of priests has dropped by approximately 3.5 percent, from 420,971 in 1978 to 405,891 in 2004, Andre Hellenbrand of OhMyNews reports:

According to the Vatican’s figures, a dramatic decrease has taken place in Europe where there are now 20 percent less priests than a quarter of a century ago. In Australia, New Zealand-Pacific Islands, the number of priests declined by 14 percent.

Experts say the reasons for the drop are complex, but the ongoing secularization of the developed world and a growing culture that devalues celibacy are among them.

However the news is not all bad for the Catholic Church – it is growing in Africa and Asia. According to the Vatican, the number of priests in Africa rose by nearly 85 percent. Asia also showed a huge increase of 74 percent.

The 40 years after the 1950s Seminary and priestly Ordination Avalanche due to the saintly witness of the pre-conciliar Popes Leo XIII, St. Pius X, Benedict XV, Pius XI and Pius XII, are over. The great dying of those priests ordained prior to 1965 has begun in 1995-2005.

The numbers are only growing in the Third World, but by only a fraction of the population increase there, which means that relatively priests’ numbers are at extraordinary low. Even where the Vatican statistics claim “it is growing and flourishing.” USA Today's interactive map (“click” on highlighted texts) provides interesting details.

What’s the big deal? Well, it looks like the West will be de-pastorized, at least in the conciliar church, in not too distant future.

The decline in Mass attendance (“click” on highlighted texts) highlights another significant fact – fewer and fewer people who call themselves Catholic actually follow Church rules or accept Church doctrine. For example, a 1999 poll by the National Catholic Reporter shows that 77 percent believe a person can be a good Catholic without going to Mass every Sunday, 65 percent believe good Catholics can divorce and remarry, and 53 percent believe Catholics can have abortions and remain in good standing. Only 10 percent of lay religion teachers accept Church teaching on artificial birth control, according to a 2000 University of Notre Dame poll. And a New York Times poll revealed that 70 percent of Catholics age 18-44 believe the Eucharist is merely a “symbolic reminder” of Jesus.

A survey commissioned by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) among Filipino parents showed that the institution is also wracked by falling Mass attendance (and issues of moral values).

Monsignor Bugnini, who was later made an Archbishop [and who, according to hard evidence was probably a Mason], assisted by six Protestant “observers” was the main architect of the Novus Ordo of the Mass which was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969.

Pope Paul and Bugnini were confident that the New Order of Mass would be a success, attracting more of the faithful to assist at the Holy Sacrifice and helping to bring non-Catholics into the Church. As is now abundantly evident, things have turned out differently. In recent times Cardinal Ratzinger has frankly admitted this, and indeed that the New Mass is a contributing factor to the present crisis in the Church.

The Cardinal wrote:

“I am convinced that the present crisis that we are experiencing in the Church today is to a large extent due to the disorientation of the liturgy - in that it is a matter of indifference whether God exists and whether or not he speaks to us or hears us. But when the community of faith, the worldwide unity of the Church and her history and the mystery of the living Christ are no longer visible in the liturgy, where else, then, is the Church to become a visible essence? Then the community is offering itself, an activity that is utterly fruitless.”

Kenneth C. Jones, author of the Index of Leading Catholic Indicators, shares his thoughts how we can turn things around:

The first is pray. I used to think that advice was to some degree a prescription for doing nothing. But the older I get and the more I understand my faith, the more I conclude that prayer is really the only effective response to the crisis…A deep prayer life with regular, scheduled prayer and the reception of the sacraments is our only way out of the crisis. As Cardinal Ratzinger said, we don’t need more reformers, we need more saints.

That being said, the one piece of advice I can give is – do something. And don’t be afraid to be confrontational. The more I observe and experience the behavior of our shepherds, the more I’ve come to believe that they will make no concession unless they are forced to. They will act in the area of true reform as they acted in connection with the priest sex abuse crisis – they will ignore it until they are exposed.

That doesn’t mean we have to be rude, obnoxious or boorish. It means we have to know our principles and be willing and able to defend them, and to bring the battle to our enemies. Too often we are on the defensive. We have 2,000 years of tradition behind us, we have nothing to apologize for.

My final piece of advice is: Let’s turn back the clock. And don’t tell me it can’t be done, because it can. In fact, people do it all the time. Remember in 1985 when Coca Cola was the dominant producer of soda in the world? Company experts got the great idea of introducing New Coke and doing away with old Coke. How did people react – the statistics are undeniable. Sales of Coca Cola plummeted; the numbers proved that it was a failure. And what did the company do? It turned back the clock. It pulled New Coke from the market, and brought back Coke Classic, “the real thing.”

Chesterton had an apt comment in his book, What’s Wrong With The World: “The need here is a need of complete freedom for restoration as well as revolution... There is one metaphor of which the moderns are very fond; they are always saying, ‘You can’t put the clock back.’ The simple and obvious answer is ‘You can.’... There is another proverb, ‘As you have made your bed, so you must lie on it’; which again is simply a lie. If I have made my bed uncomfortable, please God I will make it again… This is, as I say, the first freedom that I claim: the freedom to restore.”

I say it’s time we discard New Catholicism, as we discarded New Coke. It’s time to bring back Catholicism Classic, “the real thing.”