Transcript Residual Issues in Mindanao Peace Process

TAYO-TAYO MUNA!
Intrafaith Conversation among Catholics in the Service of
Interfaith Dialogue with Muslims and Lumads
Albert E. Alejo, SJ
SA TOTOO LANG
1. Sa totoo lang, ano talaga ang tingin ko
at pakiramdam sa mga Muslim at sa
mga katutubo? Honestly, how do I see
and feel about the Muslims and the
indigenous peoples?
2. Anong karanasan ang pinanggagalingan ng ganitong pananaw at
pakiramdam? What experiences are
the source of these views and
feelings?
CONFESSION OF SINS COMMITTED IN ACTIONS AGAINST LOVE,
PEACE, THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLES, AND RESPECT FOR
CULTURES AND RELIGIONS
(POPE JOHN PAUL II, DAY OF PARDON, MARCH 12, 2000
• “Lord of the world, Father of all,
through your Son
you asked us to love our enemies,
to do good to those who hate us
and to pray for those who persecute us.
Yet Christians have often denied the Gospel;
yielding to a mentalíty of power,
they have violated the rights of ethnic groups and
peoples, and shown contempt for their cultures
and religious traditions: be patient and merciful
towards us, and grant us your forgiveness!
We ask this through Christ our Lord.”
Asking for Forgiveness for the Sins
Against Indigenous Peoples
1. Why now? Where is this coming from?
2. Saying sorry for what, exactly? To whom?
3. Who is in a position to say sorry? Who is
supposed to say “It’s okay na!”?
4. What about justice?
5. What is the best way of expressing sorry?
How do we know we are forgiven?
6. How do we move forward?
CHURCH’S EXAMINATION
OF CONSCIENCE
Effects of Colonialism
(Excerpts from J. de Mesa)
RESULTING CULTURAL CONDITION
IF YOU WANT PROGRESS, LEARN OUR
WAYS. THEY’RE THE BEST!
I MUST LEARN
THEIR WAYS AND
FORGET OURS.
COLONIZER
COLONIZED
“One cannot in justice demand from a native
priest what he expects from a Spanish priest.
Generally speaking, [the native priests] lack the
strength in character, the drive and initiative in
their work; their upbringing is very different from
ours, and their habits and customs are not those
of Europe. Caeteris paribus they are inferior in
aptitude and talent. To wish them then to be on
the same level as the Spanish priests is to ignore
the immense gap which separates the two races,
to wish an absurd thing, to demand the
impossible.”
Francisco Gainza, O.P., Bishop of Nueva Caceres
1720 LETTER OF FRAY GASPAR DE SAN AGUSTIN
“These wretched beings are of such a nature that
they live a purely animal life, intent solely on its
preservation and convenience, without the corrective
of reason or respect or esteem for reputation.”
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE NATIVES:
Ungrateful, lazy, stupid, rude, curious and
impertinent, insolent towards Spaniards, “they do
not know their place,” proud and arrogant,
tyrannical, excessively fond of feasts, vain, lustful,
vengeful, ignorant, cowardly, and they ate a lot.
AMERICAN COLONIZATION
"Our troops in the
Philippines...look upon all
Filipinos as of one race and
condition, and being dark
men, they are therefore
'niggers,' and entitled to all
the contempt and harsh
treatment administered by
white overlords to the most
inferior races."– Boston
Herald Correspondent in the
Philippines.
CHURCH’S EXAMINATION
OF CONSCIENCE
Intrafaith Process in the Service
of Interfaith Dialogue
Trigger:
How do religions get
into conflict?
Islam is a religion of peace. Christianity is a religion of
love. But why do we witness so much fighting among
Muslims and Christians? Why the deep and persistent
prejudices hurled against each other? And this despite
the many interreligious and interfaith dialogues?
Presuming that religion is not the main culprit, how is
religion “recruited” as it were into this friction? And to
what extent are we part of this?
Could it be the link
between religion,
culture, and history?
Faith-based peace activists must understand the
dynamics of religion, culture and conflict. E.g. Religion
initiates individuals into a community. Community
building, however, builds not just identity but
boundary. Identity markers both define who is in and
who is out. Formation of identity involves oppositional
identity. This distinction, when taken too sharply, or
too exclusively, can lead to fundamentalism or
chauvinism.
We need to engage in
Intra-Faith Dialogue
Existing peace initiatives are closing the gap
between “dialogue Christians” and
“dialogue Muslims”. But it is not clear
whether we are closing the gap between
the “dialogue Christians” and the
“prejudiced Christians”, or between the
“dialogue Muslims” and the “armed
Muslims.”
Bishops-Ulama Conference, 35th General
Assembly, Jolo, Sulu, November 18-21, 2008
• While we continue with interfaith activities,
we shall also pursue authentic intrafaith
dialogues among our own communities.
We hope that through this open
communication, we will find a way to face
our own share in the prolonged problem in
Mindanao as well as discover how we
could go beyond our hurts and biases.
Perhaps this holds a key to more creative
solutions to the impasse in our peace
process.
Indigenous
Muslims
and other
84 million Philippine
population
5%
Religious
Catholic Church = 83%
Traditions
Other Christians = 9%
1%
Catholic Church
Muslims = 5 %
Indigenous and other Religious Traditions = 3%
Other
Christians
9%
Muslims
5%
Indigenous
and other
Catholic
Religious
Church
Traditions
85%3 %
Other
Christians
9%
Other Christians
Muslims
Catholic Church
Indigenous and
other
Religious
Other
Christians
Traditions
Muslims
Catholic
Church
83 %
Indigenous and
other Religious
Traditions
Source: www.nationmaster.com
Mindanao Population
• 18 Indigenous groups 8.9%
• 13 Islamized tribes 18.5%
• “Kristiyanos”/“settlers” 72.5%
Public Land Law and
Resettlement
Hectarage Allowed
Year
Homesteader
Non-Christian
Corporation
1903
16 has.
(no provision)
1,024 has.
1919
24 has.
10 has.
1,024 has.
1936
16 has.
4 has.
1,024 has.
Resettlement: Case of Cotabato
1918 census
Population
Range
Towns w/
Moro
Towns w/
Lumad
Towns w/
Settler
50% up
20
5
0
25 - 49.9%
4
2
2
10 – 24.9%
4
7
2
9.9% & less
2
6
18
1939 census
Population
Range
Towns w/
Moro
Towns w/
Lumad
Towns w/
Settler
50% up
20
9
3
25 - 49.9%
5
2
2
10 – 24.9%
6
3
10
9.9% & less
2
8
13
1970 census
Population
Range
Towns w/
Moro
Bayan ng
Lumad
Bayan ng
Settler
50% up
10
0
38
25 - 49.9%
8
1
4
10 – 24.9%
11
5
5
9.9% & less
21
31
2
COTABATO 1918 CENSUS
Bayan ng
Lumad - 5
Bayan ng
Moro - 20
COTABATO 1939 CENSUS
Bayan ng
Settler - 3
Bayan ng
Lumad - 9
Bayan ng
Moro - 20
POPULATION CHANGE IN
COTABATO 1918-1970
1939
1918
1970
Bayan ng Moro
Bayan ng Lumad
Bayan ng Settler
Mindanao Population
• 18 Indigenous groups 8.9%
• 13 Islamized tribes 18.5%
• “Kristiyanos”/“settlers” 72.5%
Challenging “Majority-Minority”
Habit of Thinking
1. The majority now has not been the
majority in the beginning.
2. Christians form the majority in the
Philippines, but we are minority in the
rest of Asia.
3. While Christians feel we are the majority
in the country, actually, in some places
like Basilan, Christians are a minority.
CHURCH’S EXAMINATION
OF CONSCIENCE
Corruption as Violence
Warning: Corruption as Violence
Mindanao has been the “favorite” destination
of official development assistance (ODA)
projects from international donor agencies
and INGOs. But until now, at least seven
provinces in Mindanao are still among the
country’s poorest. This is because of
corruption. Corruption is another form of
violence.
Post-conflict Corruption, too!
Even when conflicts are resolved,
corruption remains a problem.
Peace agreements attract big grants
from foreign donors, which open up
opportunities for personal gains.
Diversion of relief supplies away
from affected communities is just
one way corruption in aid is
manifested. Some funding agencies
themselves have been involved in
illicit realignment of trust funds.
Stakeholders are reluctant to tackle
this issue, but if this is not
monitored, all previous peace efforts
may be wasted.
Church as part of problem
• ‘There's a whole history to show that the Church,
though part of the solution, is also part of the
problem -- probably more the second than the
first. It's a Church, quite incidentally, that is itself
cleaved into rich and poor, in part involuntarily -some parishes are poorer than others…As with
the society itself, the pocket of wealth and
opulence at the top is matched by breathtaking
deprivation below, a spectacular divide that
doesn't suggest it holds on to values conducive
to honesty, or indeed Christianity.’
• —Conrado de Quiros
Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo
“I propose that we seriously examine
ourselves: Do I use God to get money, or,
do I use money to get towards God? We
who so preach to others to share, do we
also share?...
I dream of the time that there would be no
priest in need because we share with
each other.
The gap between the rich and the poor
among our people will not be bridged if
among us priests, who are configured to
Jesus Christ and preach love and sharing,
have rich and poor among us.”
CBCP statement (2003)
• ‘Today we point an accusing finger at
ourselves…We are aware, too, that in
other areas of Church life as in parish
financial management, some Church
members and leaders, through loose and
dishonest stewardship, stray from the path
of righteousness and integrity… CBCP
“Let Integrity Flow Like a Stream”’ (2003)
National Congresss
of the Clergy
SURVEY OF SPIRITUALITY AND
LIFESTYLE OF THE CLERGY
1. Indecent lifestyle
2. Factors that weaken
the Church
Indecent Lifestyle
• Material attachment and extravagance (1363)
46.8%
• Sexual relations with women/Homosexual
liaison and activities (751) 25.9%
• Habitual recourse to worldly good time, drinking,
etc. (309) 10.6%
• Closeness to the rich and powerful/identification
with the ruling elite (266) 9.1%
• Air of superiority, ‘bossiness’ and with circle of
favorites (214) 7.4%
Factors that Weaken
the Institutional Church
• Lack of transparency/honesty in the
management of Church resources (1495)
51.4%
• Arrogance and abuse of power (404)
13.9%
• Clerical intrigues and politics that destroy
their presbyteral unity (934) 32.1%
Communion and Corruption
“I cannot praise you, for your gatherings are
not for the better but for the worse… When
you gather together, there are divisions
among you. Each one eats at once his
own food and while one is hungry, the
other is getting drunk… Let each one,
then, examine himself before eating the
bread and drinking from the cup.
Otherwise, he eats and drinks his own
condemnation.” (1 Cor. 11: 17-29)
Eleventh Synod of Bishops
“The Eucharist, Source and Summit of the Life
and Mission of the Church”
“Those who share in the Eucharist must
commit themselves to creating peace in
our world, which is marked by violence,
war and, especially today, by terrorism,
economic corruption and sexual
exploitation. The conditions for building
true peace are the restoration of justice,
reconciliation and forgiveness."
Proposition No. 48 (2005)
A Parallel Challenge to Muslims?
“The fight against corruption is not a major concern among
Muslim communities, survival is. However, Muslim
religious and leaders of civil society in Mindanao have
acknowledged corruption as an issue, and are using the
strong moral foundation given by Islam to address it”
(Rasul, 164).
“Given the general absence of governance where state
institutions fail to work, the only alternative is seeking
remedies beyond the state, or into the very moral fiber of
the people. Religion is where Filipinos, particularly the
Muslims, can relate as it is the tie that binds the different
ethnic groups of Filipino Muslims together.” (Rasul
2003:162)
Rasul, Amina. 2003. A look at corruption in the ARMM and the role of faith-based
organizations in fighting corruption. In Muslim perspective on the Mindanao conflict:
The road to peace and reconciliation. Ed. Amina Rasul. Makati City: AIM Policy
Center, Asian Institute of Management.
Why religious deterrent hasn’t
worked…
“The growth of corruption also results from the fact
that individuals and religious institutions such as
mosque or church management take little
initiative to eradicate corruption. They are more
interested in ritual worship rather than "social
worship" like corruption elimination and the
creation of good governance.”
“Why believers do not shun corruption. Jakarta Post. 8 September 2006.
Slide 1
The Challenge of Corruption
in Philippine Education
Catholic Schools
• ‘Many graduates of Catholic schools have
been successful economically and
politically but they have also contributed to
the dismal economic and political
imbalances existing in our country’
(Plenary Council of the Philippines II, no.
267)
Education and Corruption
Business
Church
Goverment
Non-Government
Leaders
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
CORRUPTION
…Corruption in education
affects more people than
corruption in most other
sectors and it affects the
development potential of
the whole country…
Possible Areas of Corruption
in the School Educational
Establishment
of School
Employment
Library
Approval
Activities
Uniform
Curriculum
Textbooks
Financial
Administration
Requests &
Liquidations
Students
Examinations
Report
Card
Taxation
Appropriations
Disciplinary
Actions
Teacher &
Staff
Task
Allocation
Personnel
Matters
Work
Time
The Overdue Challenge:
Slide 17
Localization of Corruption
The different facets and manifestations of corruption in the campus:

Cheating
 Plagiarism
 Cutting classes
 Bullying
 Loitering
 loafing
 bumming
 tambay
 Bribery
 Stealing
 Vandalism
 Habitual
tardiness and
absences
 Faked diplomas

Campus election frauds
 Deceptive campus election campaigns
 School funds mismanagement
 annual yearbook
 school paper
 club funds
 Campus sports anomalies
 Rampant solicitation
• annual yearbook
• club t-shirts
• Christmas parties
• construction of fences
• field trips
 Other malpractices and malfeasance
Bullying
is a
serious
matter!
http://fvdb.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/plagiarist-supremecourt/
Corruption of the Family
“The singular trademark of graft and
corruption in the Philippines, it seems to
me, is that our corruption is family-based.
Corruption is done through the family, with
the family, and in the family. Filipinos are
known for strong family ties. Our strong
family bonds have been abused and
corrupted. It is our sad reality.” (Bishop
Socrates Villegas)
The best school is the family
“Believe me, when fear of God is brought back to
the family, we will be a better nation. When a
sense of honor and dignity returns to the home,
we will be able to bounce back to moral
uprightness. When our passion to preserve our
good name is taught again, our youth and
children will choose to die rather than sin. When
lying and cheating and petty stealing are
punished severely at home, society will have
less criminals. In a corrupt country, the first
victim is the family. The country’s renewal will
also begin in the family---by turning to the Holy
Family..” (Bishop Socrates Villegas)
Familism as blessing
It is a blessing when the whole family
support results in stable relationship,
healthy sense of identity, moral
uprightness, financial safety net, basic
form of social organization. The home is a
school for sacrifice. Working abroad,
sending remittances back home, sending
relatives to school, donating to charity
work, building churches, helping victims of
calamities and war. (adopted from JL)
Familism as a curse
When the family thinks only of its members.
Charity begins at home, and ends there.
Blood is thicker than water. When the
whole clan becomes a mechanism for
urging, supporting and defending the
corrupt. When the clan loses critical
thinking, and prevents independent
decision-making, as in voting. When it
becomes a sanctuary for the looters in
society and collaborators in crime.
MOVING FORWARD
Contribution to the Movement toward
Healing for Solidarity
CANADIAN OBLATES OF MARY
IMMACULATE (1991)
• “We apologize for the part we played in the
cultural, ethnic, linguistic, religious imperialism
that was part of the mentality within which the
peoples of Europe first met the aboriginal
peoples and which consistently has lurked
behind the way the Native peoples of Canada
have been treated by civil governments and by
the Churches. We were, naively, part of this
mentality and were, in fact, often a key player in
its implementation.”
JOHN PAUL II
ON BEHALF OF CELAM (1992)
“The prayer of the Redeemer is addressed to the
Father and at the same time to those people to
whom injustices have been done. We pray to
these people incessantly for forgiveness. This
prayer of forgiveness is directed above all to the
first inhabitants of the new earth, to the Indios
and also to those who were deported as slaves
from Africa to perform hard labor…this prayer
too is part of evangelization.”
Jesuits confession in GC 34:
Intuition and alienation
“Our intuition is that the Gospel resonates with what
is good in each culture. At the same time, we
acknowledge that we have not always followed
this intuition.
We have not always recognized that aggression and
coercion have no place in the preaching of the
Gospel of freedom, especially in cultures which
are vulnerable to manipulation by more powerful
forces.
We have often contributed to the alienation of the
very people we wanted to serve” (90-92)
RECONCILIATION WALK OF ABOUT
2,000 CHRISTIANS TRACING THE ROUTE
OF THE FIRST CRUSADE (1996)
"The Reconciliation Walk is an interdenominational
grassroots movement of Western
Christians...retracing the route of the First
Crusade, apologizing to Muslims, Jews and
Eastern Christians for the atrocities of the
Crusades -- foremost among them, the misuse
of the name and message of Jesus."
MEMORY AND RECONCILIATION: THE
CHURCH AND FAULTS OF THE PAST (1999)
The document speaks of “the responsibility of
Christians for the evils of our time” and
specifically mentions “the methods of violence
and intolerance used in the past to evangelize.”
It quotes from John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter,
Tertio Millennio Adveniente, stating that “another
sad chapter of history to which the sons and
daughters of the Church must return with a spirit
of repentance is that of the acquiesence given,
especially in certain centuries, to intolerance and
even the use of force in the service of truth.”
FRANCISCAN PROVINCE OF SAN
FELIPE DE JESUS TO THE MAYAN
PEOPLE (MANI, YUCATAN 2009)
We ask forgiveness of the Mayan people for not having
understood your world view and your religion and for
having denied your deities; for not having respected
your culture and for having imposed upon you for
many centuries a religion that you did not
understand; for having demonized your religious
practices and for having declared in word and writing
that they were works of the devil and that your idols
were Satan incarnate…
We Friars Minor commit ourselves: To help ourselves
and those brothers who will come after us to
understand the culture from which we come forth, to
promote it, and to incarnate the message of Jesus to
the point of having a Mayan Christianity.
Anglican Church to the Natives
of Canada (1993)
“I have felt shame and humiliation as I have
heard of suffering inflicted by my people,
and as I think of the part our church played
in that suffering.
I accept and I confess before God and you,
our failures in the residential schools. We
failed you. We failed ourselves. We failed
God.” –Archbp. Michael Peers, Ontario
Consider Forgiveness
as a Political Act
During a number of sessions on clan conflict
and interfaith dialogue, forgiveness was
mentioned both by Muslims and
Christians. While nobody thought it was
easy, nobody seems to claim that it was
impossible. A few testimonies proved it
was necessary.
Testimony of Datu Toto Paglas
As a young boy, he witnessed the murder of
his father. He was old enough to
remember, but too young to fight. When
he grew up, his relatives told him to
revenge. But Toto Paglas refused.
Later, his younger brother was killed. Again,
he decided not to be like his brother’s
murderer. When another brother was
killed, his relatives volunteered to take
vengeange into their hands.
Toto stopped them, saying that if he killed
another person, the family of that person
will take another life back, and the cycle
will not stop.
From Arms to Farms
“I believe that real peace is in education and
livelihood. If people are not educated, then the
only pride they have is to own and use a gun.
If the people are hungry, they can not think
properly; they fight for their family. So I
converted our land into a plantation. I hired
the members of the family that killed my father
and my brothers. Now I can walk even without
a body guard. I am at peace.”—Toto Paglas
Role of Catholic Institutions
“The Catholic Church in general and Catholic
educational institutions in particular are weighed
down by “baggages” as a repository of confessional
and historical biases against Muslims and Lumads.
The success of peace-building programs of
Catholic educational institutions must be gauged
among others on how they move Christians into
admitting that they play a part in the historical
marginalization of minority groups and that there can
be no just resolution to the Mindanao conflicts
without their support.”
--- Benny Bacani
“God has blessed our country, not just with
thousands of beautiful islands, majestic
mountains, and long stretches of
shores and seas,
but also with wonderful people who have nurtured
a rich diversity of cultures and faith traditions, of
different ways of celebrating and defending life
and human dignity.
Among this great noble people are the indigenous
communities, to whom we owe long overdue
expression of deep gratitude as well as sincere
apology.”
SIGN OF PEACE
Lord, Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I
leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not
on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and
grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom
where you live for ever and ever.
Amen.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Let’s give each other a sign of peace.
WORKSHOP QUESTIONS
1.
What do we reaffirm in the Church’s history, life and
mission, especially to the IPs?
2.
What do we regret in our history, attitude and practice
in relationship with IPs in our region or country?
3.
What are we ready to do now as bishops in the
Philippines? (Choose at least two topics.)
* Direction of evangelization with the IPs
* Journey toward reconciliation
* Changes in our formation program
* Support for the advocacy of the IPs
* Strengthening of the ECIP, IPAs, and related ministries
* Drafting a Pastoral Statement on the IPs
RE-AFFIRMATION
What do we reaffirm in the Church’s life and mission,
especially to the IPs?
1. Work, witness, scholarship of missionaries
2. Pastoral work of the dioceses with the IPs
3. Humanitarian work responding to their needs
4. Overt preaching of Jesus, direct evangelization
5. Involvement in the education of IPs
6. Shared belief in God, extra-biblical revelation
7. Collaboration of the laity and NGOs
8. Cultural “preservation”
REGRET
What do we regret in our history, attitude and practice
in relationship with IPs in our region or country?
1. Lack of understanding; distance from them
2. Loss of writing and other cultural treasures
3. Discriminatory practices and attitudes
4. Failure to stress social teachings of the Church
5. Lack of coordination among Church ministries
6. Pressure on IPs, pushing them afar
7. Acquisition of lands, thru the datus
8. Paternalism and dole-outs
9. Cultural exploitation
READY TO DO
What are we ready to do now as bishops in the
Philippines?
1. Revise our catechesis and evangelization ways
2. Establish IP desks, empowering IP pastoral workers
3. Institutional and financial support for IP ministry
4. Integral evangelization, mission ad gentes
5. Clarify links between ECIP, NASSA, Culture Com
6. Closer collaboration
7. Formation of seminarians on IPA
8. Overt preaching of Jesus, direct evangelization