Military bishop: ROTC is good if done right

THE effectiveness of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program in schools depends on implementation and not just ideas, the country’s military bishop said. Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines (MOP) said he is not entirely against ROTC revival as long as it is for the good of the students.

“The push for the ROTC program would be good if they are implemented well,” Florencio told Radio Veritas.

“The different values that are enshrined in the program could go down to the core of our young people,” he said.

The bishop made the statement amid the ongoing push in the Senate for the return of the

ROTC program in tertiary and vocational schools.

The program seeks to provide basic military training to motivate, train, organize and utilize students for national defense preparedness or civil-military operations.

The ROTC was made optional in 2002 because of reports of corruption within the program.

CBCP News

PHL embassy in Oslo joins Feast of Sto. Niño celebration

THE Philippine Embassy in Oslo joined around 500 Filipino Catholic faithful from the Norwegian capital and nearby kommune (communities) in celebrating the Feast of the Sto. Nino at the Oslo Katedralskole (cathedral school) on January 21.

The event featured a Holy Mass in Cebuano celebrated by Fr. Johan Dumandan, cultural performances from various groups from Oslo and Drammen, Jesshiem, Larvik and Hammar towns, with The Voice Norge Filipino born contestant LJ Amorsolo also performing.

There was also a turnover of hermana duties from the Sacred Heart Filipino Chaplaincy-Our Lady of Mt. Carmen Oslo to the Hiligaynon Group. The latter will lead the celebrations next year.

In his remarks at the event, Philippine Ambassador to Norway Enrico T. Fos reminded those present of the importance of bringing their Catholic faith and their Filipino roots to wherever they are. He said it not just connects them to the Philippines, but also inspires others around them.

“Wherever we are, the Filipino faithful filled churches, sang in choirs and helped in various ministries, much like what you are doing here in Norway. I hope that you continue to spread the Catholic faith and the Filipino values where you are, as you showcase the best values of the

Filipino being admired around the world,” he said.

In a raffle draw winners were able to take home prizes, including pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Fatima, and plane tickets to the Philippines.

The ministries themselves have also been shaped by Pope Francis in recent years. The pope changed Church law in January 2021 so that women could be instituted to the lay ministries of lector and acolyte.

Pope Francis established the ministry of catechist as an instituted, vocational service within the Catholic Church in May 2021.

The ministry is for lay people who have a particular call to serve the Catholic Church as a teacher of the faith. The ministry lasts for the entirety of life, regardless of whether the person is actively carrying out that activity during every part of his or her life.

In his homily, Pope Francis said that “the Word of God is for everyone.”

He underlined that the Word “calls everyone to conversion” and “leads us to direct our lives to the Lord.”

“All of us, even the pastors of the Church, are under the authority of the Word of God. Not under our own tastes, tendencies and preferences, but under the one Word of God that molds us, converts us, and calls us to be united in the one Church of Christ,” the pope said.

He said that the “proclamation of the Word must become the main priority of the ecclesial community, as it was for Jesus.”

“May it not happen that we profess a God with an expansive heart, yet become a Church with a closed heart … may it not be that we preach salvation for all, yet make the way to receive it impractical; may it not be that we recognize that we are called to proclaim the Kingdom, yet neglect the Word, losing ourselves in so many secondary activities or so many secondary discussions,” he said.

More than 5,000 people attended the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, according to the Vatican.

The Sunday of the Word of God has been celebrated in the Church each year on the third Sunday of Ordinary Time since 2020.

Pope Francis said that the Word of God “draws us into the ‘net’ of the Father’s love and makes us apostles moved by an unquenchable desire to bring all those we encounter into the barque of the Kingdom.”

“Today let us also hear the invitation to be fishers of men: let us feel that we are called by Jesus in person to proclaim his Word, to bear witness to it in everyday life, to live it in justice and charity, to “give it flesh” by tenderly caring for those who suffer,” he said.

“This is our mission: to become seekers of the lost, oppressed, and discouraged, not to bring them ourselves, but the consolation of the Word, the disruptive proclamation of God that transforms life, to bring the joy of knowing that He is our Father and addresses each one of us, to bring the beauty of saying, ‘Brother, sister, God has come close to you, listen and you will find in his Word an amazing gift!’” Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency via CBCP

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