AS02407.1443 May 3, 2007 62 EM-lines (No count of words) ASIA    Will Violence At Virginia Tech Awaken Asian Churches? UCAN Column "Living Church in Asia" by Hector Welgampola BRISBANE, Australia (UCAN) -- All life is precious, everywhere, so the shocking news of the slaughter at Virginia Tech in the United States was mourned worldwide. Sudden disaster numbs people with grief. For a moment, the killing of 32 people, mostly youths, seemed to make America momentarily forget the escalating death roll of more than 3,300 Americans killed in Iraq to date and the 30,000 killed by handguns in the United States every year. With time, anger began to make way for reflection. As usual, the young are always open and outspoken. They did not take long to begin talking of the killer, their campus mate Cho Seung-hui. Citing Cho's former classmates, media said fellow students who mocked the Korean immigrant's shyness and strange way he talked had bullied him. "As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying 'Go back to China,'" Chris David, a Virginia Tech student, recalled. Stephanie Roberts, a member of Cho's graduating class at Westfield High, said her friends who went to middle school with Cho told her they recalled him being bullied there, too. "There were some people who were really mean to him, and they would push him down and laugh at him," Roberts said. So Cho unsurprisingly said, "I feel so lonely" when Virginia Tech Professor Lucinda Roy asked him about his life, and school spokesman Larry Hincker said Cho was a "loner." Cho's personal insecurity and plight in no way justified what he did. Sadly though, as in life, he was "a loner" in death. People worldwide prayed for those he had killed. But, in breach of Pope John XXIII's counsel to despise sin but not the sinner, there was little evidence of prayer for Cho. According to Catholic News Service, Monsignor Joseph Lehman of neighboring Our Lady of Nazareth parish said, "Leave the killer's action as a mystery of faith." Catholic News Service cited Cardinal George Pell of Sydney saying that the tragedy demonstrates the human need for others and the devastating effect of loneliness and isolation in contemporary society. In a column in Australia's Sunday Telegraph, the Sydney archbishop said Cho would be remembered only as murderer, probably a madman. Cardinal Pell hastened to add, "... but he was not an alien and demon, and perhaps there may be things we should learn from his blighted experience of life ..." For sure, the scenario would have been altogether different if campus ministry had been more alert and effective instead of waiting to walk around consoling survivors and mourners. That may be why the president of the U.S. National Clergy Council, Reverend Rob Schenck, encouraged Christian leaders and parents to focus on moral upbringing of children. "When kids kill kids, there's something wrong in the culture," the Evangelical pastor said. In his video, Cho told fellow students, "You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and tortured my conscience. You thought it was one pathetic more life you were extinguishing." In his frenzy, he even wrote, "I die like Jesus Christ to inspire generations of weak and defenseless people." By "defenseless people," he may have meant other deprived and rejected young migrants like him. According to The New York Times, some 200 million migrants live scattered worldwide. No doubt, many among them are Asians, young Asians, who migrated in search of justice or a fair life. Since migrants and youth have for long been highlighted as top pastoral priorities of the Asian Church, this tragedy must have a special message for Church leaders, too. How much attention do Asian Churches give to prepare and follow up Asians who migrate? What is the pastoral responsibility of Churches in migrant-sending countries and migrant-receiving countries to interact and coordinate the apostolate to these uprooted people irrespective of race or religion? Part of what Korea's bishops told U.S. bishops in their letter about the Virginia Tech killings has a message for all. Church media reported their rather cautious call "to look with a caring heart whether people around us live in isolation and desperation, and embrace them with brotherly love." Will the Virginia Tech tragedy help shift the focus of Church pastoral care for itinerants from high-profile tourism to low-profile migration? Must we wait for more desperate signs of the times before we awake to the compelling mission to accompany today's migrants in peregrinatio? ------ Hector Welgampola, a Sri Lankan journalist, was Executive Editor of UCA News from 1987 until he retired in December 2001. END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code AS02407.1443 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports ASIA The Role Of Holy See Diplomacy Continues to Evolve In Asia (April 9, 2007) ASIA Let's Be Re-Evangelized By The Future Church (February 15, 2007) IC02397.1443 May 3, 2007 39 EM-lines (375 words) INDIA    Christians, Muslims Demonstrate Near Parliament For Dalit Rights NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- Christian and Muslim groups demonstrated in India's capital on April 30 seeking social equality for people from low castes. Officials and leaders of more than a dozen organizations including the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) gathered just before noon at a public ground some five kilometers from parliament. In 41-degree-Celsius heat, under a blazing sun, the 300 or so demonstrators marched to within two kilometers of parliament before police blocked their way. Their march came four days into the second phase of a month-long budget session, during which parliament likely will discuss quotas for socially backward classes. For more than five decades, Christian and Muslim groups have demanded statutory benefits for their dalit. The Indian Constitution allows quotas in educational institutions and government jobs for dalit, members of castes once considered "untouchable," to help them advance socially and economically. Christians and Muslims are excluded from these benefits on the ground that their religions reject casteism. Kamal Ashraf, convener of Dalit Muslim Liberation Movement, insisted in his rally address that the government should treat all socially oppressed people equally. Father Cosmon Arokiaraj, executive secretary of the CBCI commission for former low-caste and tribal groups, told UCA News during the demonstration that Christians "still have faith" the federal government will include them for quota benefits. According to Church sources, more than 60 percent of India's 25 million Christians come from dalit castes. A Sanskrit word, dalit literally means "trampled upon." "We can't wait any longer. This injustice should end. We are also mobilizing political parties to meet our demands," Father Arokiaraj said. Mohammad Iqbal, a young Muslim, reported that several onlookers asked the marchers about the rally. "We explained (our cause) to them very politely, and many people agreed with us," he told UCA News. He said he braved the heat to attend "for me and my fellow brethren." Ejaz Ali, founder of Dalit Muslim Liberation Movement, which led the Muslim groups, called it "a good sign" that Christians and Muslims joined to fight "for this noble cause." A joint effort will have more impact, he told UCA News. According to Father Arokiaraj, a similar demonstration in March was the first time that Muslims and Christians came together for the dalit cause. END Related UCAN Reports INDIA Dalit Christians Call Off Seven-Year Sit-In For Equal Rights (June 20, 2000) INDIA Christian Dalit Demonstrations In Karnataka Demand Equal Rights (December 30, 1993) INDIA Indian Minister Backs Dalit Christian Demand For Equal Rights (December 2, 1992) KO02403.1443 May 3, 2007 43 EM-lines (473 words) KOREA    New Daegu Archbishop Pledges Renewal DAEGU, South Korea (UCAN) -- Newly installed Archbishop John Choi Young-soo of Daegu has pledged to renew the South Korean archdiocese in preparation for its coming centennial celebrations. Coadjutor Archbishop Choi succeeded Archbishop Paul Ri Moun-hi April 30 during a special Mass at the major seminary in Daegu, 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul. During the Mass, Bishop-elect Thaddeus Cho Hwan-kil was also consecrated as auxiliary to the newly installed archbishop. Speaking after his installation, Archbishop Choi said he will convene a synod to promote renewal and change in time for the archdiocese's centennial anniversary in 2011. This will be Daegu's second synod, the first being held 1997-99 in preparation for the Jubilee of the Year 2000. "I firmly believe the Holy Spirit in the Church will guide us to Christ in the unity and love of parishioners," Archbishop Choi said. Simon Park Yong-hee from Sangyok-dong Church, where Archbishop Choi served as parish priest, remembers the new archbishop as an active pastor who stressed unity and harmony among parishioners. "Archbishop Choi will be a good leader with his good personality and his love of the faithful," he told UCA News April 30. Some 4,000 Catholics joined the Mass, along with Daegu archdiocesan priests and 25 bishops from dioceses throughout the country. South Korea's two cardinals, Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul and his predecessor Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, were also present. John Vianney Lee Yong-ki, president of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Council of Daegu, told UCA News April 30: "Today we are happy. We have a new archbishop and a new auxiliary bishop. We thank God for granting us two brilliant leaders." Promising the council's support, he said, "We laypeople will serve the two leaders with prayers for the evangelization of society." Pope Benedict XVI appointed then-Father Cho to be auxiliary bishop of Daegu in March. In February 2006, the pope appointed then-Bishop Choi coadjutor archbishop of the archdiocese. Archbishop Ri celebrated his resignation Mass at the seminary April 24, almost a month after the pope accepted his resignation. He was auxiliary bishop in Daegu in 1972 before becoming archbishop in 1986, An official of the archdiocese told UCA News on the condition of anonymity that Archbishop Ri resigned due to poor health, although he does not have a critical illness. Archbishop Ri is still four years away from retirement age. Canon law requires a diocesan bishop to request retirement when he reaches 75. "He served for a long time and seemed to have made a resolute decision to transfer leadership of the archdiocese to a younger generation," the official said. Archbishop Choi is 65, while his auxiliary is 53. During Archbishop Ri's 21-year tenure, the archdiocese more than doubled, from 200,000 Catholics when he first took over to 420,000 when he resigned. The number of parishes almost doubled, from 79 parishes to 147. END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code KO02403.1443 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports KOREA Daily Newspaper President Appointed Auxiliary Bishop (March 29, 2007) KOREA Daegu Archdiocese Auxiliary Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop (February 10, 2006) KOREA Pope Appoints A New Auxiliary Bishop For Taegu Archdiocese (January 11, 2001) KOREA UCAN Interview - Church's Role Is To Aid Restoring This Society (January 24, 1994) MA02406.1443 May 3, 2007 60 EM-lines (681 words) MACAU    Lay Association Launches Guide Service For Pilgrims MACAU (UCAN) -- The Macau Catholic Church has set up an office through which pilgrims visiting one of Asia's oldest dioceses can hire trained guides. The office, which Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng of Macau opened and blessed on April 22, operates under the Catholic Laity Association of Macau. It has two people on staff, but one works part time. Full-timer Anna Leong Yung-keng told UCA News the office can assist individuals or groups who wish to make pilgrimages to Macau. It will help the local Church promote pilgrimages more effectively and allow pilgrims to gain a greater understanding of Macau's religious culture, she said. The office will also train volunteer guides, according to Leong, a member of the laity association. She explained that by training volunteers to be parish tour guides, she hopes to expand this "meaningful work" of evangelization. In 2002, the association launched a free guide service for pilgrims after training some volunteers, mostly Catholics, in basic tour-guiding skills. By the time the service ended in early 2006, it had assisted about 30 pilgrimage groups, mainly from Macau or Hong Kong, about an hour's jetfoil ride away. Leong explained that volunteers had their own jobs and did not always have time to guide pilgrims. This personnel shortage led the laity association to suspend the service. After having served as a volunteer, Leong thought it would be a pity if the local Church could not seize the opportunity to promote Catholic culture, especially after Macau was listed as a World Heritage site in 2005. The "historical center of Macau" includes several Catholic churches and ruins, but Leong said ordinary tour guides "understand little about the Catholic Church, thus their explanations are often misleading and inaccurate." Recalling her experience as a volunteer pilgrimage guide, she said she "felt lighthearted and satisfied after each tour, and was eager to search for more information about the Macau Church to enrich the next tour." Leong left another job to work at the new office. But she wanted to enhance her knowledge and skills, so she took a course at the government-run Macau Institute for Tourism Studies and obtained a tour-guide license. Ao Wai-lan, a religion teacher at a Catholic school, told UCA News many youths know little about the history of Macau or religions, and lack a sense of belonging to their society. Because of this, she encourages her students to join pilgrimages to learn the local history and early missioners' deeds. A local Catholic woman surnamed Chio, who joined a pilgrimage guided by Leong in 2005, told UCA News that after the tour she "understood more about the (Macau) Church's historical background." This prepared her to introduce Macau to youths from other countries during the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, she said. The pilgrimage guide office has scheduled a 20-hour training course for Catholic volunteers from mid-May to June on topics such as guiding skills, local Church history, church decoration and liturgy, lives of Catholic saints and how to lead prayers. The service is available only in Mandarin and the Cantonese dialect for now, but Leong says she hopes to offer English guide services by 2008. Lao Un-bing, secretary of the laity association and a volunteer with the new office, is taking an intensive English course for tour guides. To defray operational costs, each guided tour of six churches costs 500 patacas (US$62) a day. Two weeks' advance booking is required. According to Father Pedro Chung Chi-kin, vicar general of Macau diocese, the office can operate for at least two years with support from the diocese and funding from Bishop Lai. Macau, a Portuguese colony for five centuries until it reverted to China in December 1999, had been a gateway for foreign missioners and traders entering mainland China from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Physically it has an area of only 27.5 square kilometers. The diocese, erected in 1576, has 22 churches and chapels served by about 20 diocesan and 50 missionary priests. Its 20,000 Catholics are mainly local Chinese or Macanese, of mixed Chinese and Portuguese descent, and Filipinos. END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code MA02406.1443 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports MACAU UCAN Feature - Pilgrimage Service Helps Catholics Learn Church History (August 12, 2003) MACAU Three Catholic Venues Await Assessment As World Heritage Sites (October 10, 2002) MACAU Catholics Ready To Guide Pilgrims Through Rich Church Heritage (July 12, 2002) PL02364.1443 May 3, 2007 59 EM-lines (664 words) PHILIPPINES    Poor Women Benefit From Parish Livelihood Project PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines (UCAN) -- Embroidering the Blessed Mother, saints and local images on stoles has put food on the table of single mother Lenielyn Ramos for three years. The parish livelihood program has been a "great help" in feeding and educating her two children, Ramos told UCA News in April. The 28-year-old mother, a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, 580 kilometers southwest of Manila, teaches at a day-care center. She and about 20 other women in Luzviminda, the village where the parish is based, earn 2,000-3,000 pesos (US$42-$63) a month by embroidering stoles for priests celebrating Mass. Rossela Paoner, another single mother, heads the parish's embroidery department. The income helps her raise her baby, but the potential she has shown through her involvement also led the parish to offer her a college scholarship. She is now in the third year of a business administration program at Palawan State University. Paoner told UCA News she is grateful to the parish because her embroidery "hobby" enables her to earn and study. "We just do this when we have nothing to do at home or between our daily house chores," she said. The parish priest, Father Ricardo Santa Cruz, told UCA News he began the livelihood program in 2004. The earnings it generates, 1.7 million pesos so far, go directly to the women, he said, explaining that the parish only negotiates with clients and provides necessary training. He initiated the project to give poverty-afflicted village women something to do besides gossip and play cards all day long, he added. Since the women had no starting capital, clients were and still are asked for a 50-percent down payment for cloth and other materials, Father Santa Cruz said. Stoles retail commercially for 10,000-to-15,000 pesos each, according to the priest, while his parishioners charge only 3,000 pesos. Aside from images of the Blessed Mother and saints, the women have used sketches Father Santa Cruz made of rice stalks and grapes as patterns for embroidery designs. Their stoles have been sold to people in various provinces, and even to some contacts abroad, especially Filipino priests in the United States. Local touches often are preferred, the parish priest noted, so the women will sew on locally woven cloth as a border at a client's request. Even so, marketing remains a perennial concern for the parish, so it welcomes support from other people and agencies. "This project is a big support to the local residents. If they earn a thousand pesos in a week, already they can buy a sack of rice that a family of three or four could consume for a month," Father Santa Cruz noted. The women's success encouraged male parishioners to start selling a local variant of lechon, roasted pig, which they baste with milk. "If this project succeeds, it will generate more income for the people as well as decrease the problem of illegal logging here," the parish priest said. He also pointed out that although his parishioners have been preoccupied with their economic situation, they collaborated in constructing a new church. People from Santa Lucia and Mangingisda, two other villages in the parish, offered gravel and sand during Sunday Masses. Parishioners also volunteered to be construction workers, so instead of spending 6.5 million pesos as estimated, the parish spent only 1.2 million, the priest reported. "The people synergize. We first built the Luzviminda church, then followed by building chapels in Santa Lucia and Mangingisda," he continued. Father Santa Cruz enthused: "God moves in everyone here. We see people's development as integral and holistic -- not just spiritual development but development of all aspects of their life." The parish, whose territory is home to 13,000 people, belongs to Puerto Princesa vicariate, which covers the southern towns of Palawan. According to the 2006-2007 Catholic Directory of the Philippines, of the 596,018 people living there, 417,834 are Catholics. Taytay vicariate covers the rest of the island, where 85 percent of 310,383 people are Catholics. END Related UCAN Reports PHILIPPINES Palawan Vicariate Split Into Two (May 16, 2002) PHILIPPINES Mercury from Closed Mine on Palawan Will Poison Generations (October 9, 1995) PHILIPPINES Environmental Refugees Head For 'Promised Land' of Palawan Island (June 17, 1991) PL02401.1443 May 3, 2007 65 EM-lines (654 words) PHILIPPINES    Church-Backed Group Seeks Environmental Plans From Political Candidates BAGUIO CITY, Philippines (UCAN) -- A newly formed multi-sectoral group in a northern Philippine city is monitoring the environmental platforms of local candidates. On April 16, Green Electoral Initiative (GEI) Baguio-Benguet, a coalition of 16 NGOs, parishes, schools and women Religious groups, sponsored a forum for candidates to lay out their plans for the environment if they are elected into office on May 14. According to Maryknoll Sister Teresa Dagdag, the forum, entitled How Green Are Your Candidates?, was organized to educate voters on candidates' plans regarding the environment. Sister Dagdag told UCA News April 26 that GEI also wants to "hold the candidates accountable for their (campaign) promises." Two congressional and seven mayoral candidates were asked how they would deal with environmental issues such as air and water pollution, logging, mining and solid waste. Bishop Carlito Cenzon of Baguio, who opened the forum, said the "green question" is important because the earth is "advancing towards irreversible destruction." He warned the gathering of about 300 that political will "also involves the people," adding "the future will tell us what kind of voters and citizens we are." A 2005 Department of Natural Resources report identified water shortages caused by "infrastructure development and decreasing vegetation and forest cover" as a problem in Baguio. "Safe water access for 25 percent of the city's population is uncertain," it says. A Dec. 31, 2004 article in the Northern Dispatch local paper also says field researchers and principal investigators from the University of Georgia found that the city's central business district was polluted with vehicular exhaust. A 2002 World Bank study shows that Baguio City, the country's "summer capital," was the Philippines' "most polluted city." During the forum, mayoral and congressional candidates were each given five minutes to speak about their plans to protect the environment. Congressional candidate Mauricio Domogan said he will support laws and policies for forest management and stiffer penalties for corporations that violate mining laws. His political opponent Jose Molintas said he will fund environmental forums if he wins. The mayoral candidates in their speeches acknowledged the importance of the environment. Most pushed for reforestation and strict implementation of the Clean Air Act. Thirty candidates for vice mayor and councilor also attended the forum. Maryknoll Sister Margarita Jamias told UCA News after the forum, "I'm very happy that the candidates came and participated in the forum." The director of the Association of Women Religious (Banguio-Benguet) stressed, "We're in danger" if "drastic measures" are not undertaken "now." Her congregation was a convener of the forum. Pacita Rimando, who heads the Social Action Center of St. John Bosco Parish in nearby Lucban village, told UCA News it was "important to meet the candidates and listen to what they have to say," so that "when they get elected, we can ask them to fulfill their promises." Her parish was also a convener of the forum. Sister Dagdag said the forum was inspired by the environmental group Greenpeace, who sent senatorial candidates questions about their plans for the environment. "I thought it might be good to ask local candidates the same questions," she said. The nun, who also serves as director of the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary in Campo Sioco village here, pointed out her congregation believes "in the spirituality that cares for the earth, a creation-centered spirituality." She asserted, "God wants us be creative and to enhance the earth, not to destroy it." GEI, which was formed in March, plans to have monthly meetings after the elections to monitor the winning candidates' adherence to their environmental platforms and campaign promises, according to Sister Dagdag. The group will celebrate World Environment Day on June 5, she added. In his April 18 pastoral letter on the elections, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila listed six characteristics of the best possible leader, one of which is "a person who respects and protects the limited sources in nature and requires others to do the same." END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code PL02401.1443 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports PHILIPPINES Manila Cardinal And Environmental Network Aim For 'Clean' Elections (February 22, 2007) PHILIPPINES Poverty, Injustice Remain Top Church Concerns During Election Year (January 29, 2007) PHILIPPINES Parish Stages Concert To Raise Funds For Lay Center (January 23, 2007) SR02391.1443 May 3, 2007 55 EM-lines (588 words) SRI LANKA    Priests Parade Wearing Hammer And Sickle In Honor Of Workers COLOMBO (UCAN) -- Buddhist, Christian and Hindu clergy marched around the president's residence in a May Day parade before praying together for workers. The activities were held a day early, on April 30, because May 1 was the date this year for Vesak, the day this Buddhist-majority island state commemorates Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. May Day, or Labor Day, is marked around the world as a day for workers. Some of the 500 participants from various faiths carried axes, fishing gear, hammers, plows, sickles and tea baskets to represent common trades and vocations in Sri Lanka. The procession also featured traditional drummers, dancers and colorfully dressed youth. After walking around the president's residence, past soldiers and police posted every 100 meters, the procession headed to St. Michael and All Angels Church in the heart of Colombo for an interreligious prayer service. The theme dealt with creating unity among workers by resolving ethnic tensions. Buddhist monks and Hindu priests joined Anglican, Catholic and other Christian clergy Attired in cassocks emblazoned with a red hammer and sickle for the service at the Anglican church. The gathering hosted by Anglican Bishop Duleep de Chikera of Colombo prayed for workers and reflected on messages inspired by the Scriptures of the three religious traditions. Christian Workers Fellowship (CWF) organizes this annual Interfaith Workers Service, which St. Michael and All Angels has been hosting since 1960. Over the years it has become established as a regular part of May Day celebrations in Sri Lanka as well as on many Church calendars. Vijaya Vidyasagara, a secretary to the CWF, told UCA News why they chose the theme of unity. "Every year workers join in a rally and stress workers' unity, but the next day there will be disputes within various trade unions and among workers," he said. "If workers have a problem, say, in Jaffna, a Tamil area, workers in Colombo should worry about them and struggle for them," he continued, describing the kind of unity workers need. Venerable Galagama Dhammaransi Thero told UCA News during the rally, "As the representatives of different religions, we bless this section of the people, the workers who really run and develop the country." "If we impose barriers and separate them religiously and ethnically," he continued, "we are doing them a great injustice." The monk, who serves as an adviser to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, added that "every religion teaches the importance of labor." In the view of Father Rohan Perera, director of the Oblate-run Centre for Society and Religion, participation in this annual event expresses needed solidarity with workers, on whom society relies. "God is the creative force behind this world, and workers are also a part of building this world," he said. "In a society where workers are hired and fired, it is important that all the religions and ethnic groups get together to recognize them." Methodist Reverend Sarath Hettiarachchi pointed out that the demonstrators, regardless of ethnicity, religion or political ideology, "marched along this security-tightened area without any fear or problem." He told UCA News that he remembered participating in this May Day event as a schoolboy. "To bring about peace in a pluralist society, it is important to have this type of event, for setting aside our differences," he added. Political parties also held Labor Day rallies in Sri Lanka on April 30. An ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has claimed close to 70,000 lives since 1983, when Tamil rebels launched an armed struggle against the Sinhalese-led government for a separate Tamil state. END Related UCAN Reports SRI LANKA Workers Honored, Challenged In Labor Day Rally (May 6, 2002) SRI LANKA Christian Workers Support Child Workers' Rally, Defend Labor Rights (June 8, 1998) SRI LANKA Kandy Christian Workers Movement Marks Labor Day (May 22, 1992)