ID02422.1444 May 8, 2007 57 EM-lines (667 words) INDIA    Church In Goa Campaigns Against Corrupt Candidates In State Elections PANAJI, India (UCAN) -- With elections approaching in western India's Goa state, the local Church has been campaigning against political parties that have fielded corrupt candidates on the basis of "winnability." A pamphlet distributed in parishes and in public places by Goa archdiocese's Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) demands that candidates not be "dumped" on people based on the likelihood of winning the election. Instead, the CSJP says, candidates should be proposed and nominated through consensus. Goa, a former Portuguese colony on India's western coast, will elect the members of its 40-seat legislative assembly on June 2, and political parties must finalize their candidates by the second week of May. Christians, who form about 27 percent of Goa's 1.3 million people, are a decisive voting bloc. Father Maverick Fernandes, the CSJP secretary, told UCA News that the Church is concerned about the situation prevailing in Goa for the past five years because "wealth amassed through corruption is often used to win elections." Noting that the state has had two governments in the last five years, he explained that "the pamphlet highlights what is on our mind about how people should look at these political parties." The circular, entitled "Goa's Socio-political Situation ... Reflect ... Act" and published in English as well as two Indian languages, Konkani and Marathi, asks people to ensure that candidates are honest, transparent, accountable and capable, regardless of religion, caste or social status. It also urges the members of political parties to press their leaders to disregard the "winnability" of candidates. According to Father Fernandes, catering to "winnable" candidates is a "vicious cycle." He said it means "only the rich will be voted back into power, since they have the capacity to buy votes." The Church's campaign includes rallies, such as one the Salesians organized on May 2 at Taleigao village, just outside Panaji, the state capital. Surshut Martins, a homeopathic doctor and political activist, reminded the rally that some politicians have been reelected repeatedly over the past 30 years. Political commentator Vithaldas Hegde told UCA News that such practices can happen because Goa has small constituencies, about 15,000 voters on average. Securing 7,000 or so votes would ensure victory, Hegde said, since the remaining votes would be split among other candidates. The CSJP circular asserts that corruption has grown in recent years and says elected representatives have made systematic attempts to divide people and create a religion-based "vote bank." To begin to change that practice, the CSJP is urging people to ensure their names are listed on the electoral rolls because voter lists can be manipulated to achieve a political victory. Jesuit Father Pratap Naik, who heads a center for local Konkani language and literature, says his name and those of others from his institution were cut from the electoral rolls in April, and he "had to fight" to get them restored. "It is not the first time" that the names of Religious and people linked to them have been deleted from electoral rolls, the priest told UCA News. "In the past, even names of residents in Mother Theresa's Home were deleted," he said. Father Antimo Gomes, the parish priest of Our Lady Immaculate Conception in Panaji, told UCA News that his parish has successfully completed the first round of the battle. He said the parish has ascertained that "the names of all parishioners who had been dropped were put back on the electoral rolls." "I strongly feel that priests ought to be in the forefront and speak out in church over various candidates and political parties because upright laypersons are still reluctant to come forward," Father Gomes said. Father Eremito Rebelo, vice postulator of the cause of the canonization of the Blessed Joseph Vaz, who was born in Goa in 1651, told UCA News that what the Church is doing "is very good," but it "should have been done 20 years back." He added that "we have Hindus now coming to me applauding the brave initiative of the Church." END Related UCAN Reports INDIA Church People Predict Flawed Results In Goa Village Council Elections (April 19, 2007) INDIA Priest-Initiated Campaign To Fight Corruption Divides Clergy (October 10, 2006) INDIA Goa Church Forms Lay Leaders To Fight Corruption As Election Nears (May 24, 2002) INDIA Pro-Hindu Government Trying To Woo Catholics In Goa, Church Leaders Say (June 30, 2001) MY02402.1444 May 8, 2007 62 EM-lines (695 words) MYANMAR    Catechism Teachers Seek 'Fun' Ways To Hold Children's Interest MANDALAY, Myanmar (UCAN) -- Catholic children in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, are pulled or pushed in several directions. As major seminarian Paul Thet Khaine puts it, their parents and teachers badger them to achieve high grades in school, seen as passports to good jobs and better lives. Then there are "cool" things to do, such as hanging out with friends or playing video games. Then there is the Church, trying to get them to attend "boring" catechism classes to learn lasting life lessons. Thet Khaine, 28, understands the challenge facing him when he helps teach catechism during holidays at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Mandalay, 580 kilometers north of Yangon. He knows he needs to make his classes "fun." His daily two-hour sessions for youngsters 5-14 years old are lively blends of tales, jokes, newsy items and fun songs, all aimed at keeping the kids engaged. Active games, including hide and seek, help them let off steam. He blames "city life" for his struggle to "entertain" while instructing children, who are busy not only with their formal education but with extra tutorial classes and homework. The seminarian also feels a time pressure, saying he has to "get them when they are young," because they think they don't need to attend catechism classes anymore after they receive Confirmation, normally at around age 14. Thet Khaine told UCA News he feels "more satisfied teaching catechism in the villages," where he says it is easier to keep children sitting in their chairs. He observed that parents there do not emphasize formal education as much. "Parents send their kids to daily catechism class and they also attend daily morning Mass." Even in the city, however, "the kids are happy and enthusiastic when we arrange songs, tales, jokes and role-playing in the catechism class." Thet Khaine expects that through these fun activities, the serious messages will sink in. The seminarian said he tries to get children to form images in their mind, rather than memorize words. For example, he teaches them that Baptism is the same as entering the main door of a house or church. "Only after entering the main door can you begin Catholic life." Nuns usually teach catechism in parishes. Seminarians help during their Christmas and Easter holidays. They teach about the Church, the Sacraments, the clergy, Mass and moral values. Sister Gertrude Than Than Oo, who teaches catechism at St. John's Church in Mandalay, told UCA News that about 20 children attend her class regularly, but more come to prepare for their First Communion and Confirmation. "I try to teach them what being a Catholic means," she said. The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary nun would like to see a better program for the children. She suggests a training program for seminarians, nuns and catechists on how to make catechism interesting. Children should have "a new environment for listening to catechism lessons," she says, one that includes playing games and fun. For her, a catechism class ought to be the youngsters' "happiest place on the weekend." Some parents shared their views on catechism classes with UCA News. Julian James Min Min Soe of Sacred Heart Cathedral agreed that "nowadays children are struggling with their education and do not have much free time." The 35-year-old father has a different view. "My first priority for my children is catechism and second is education," he said. "At home I arrange for my kids to watch videos about Christ," he continued, but he admitted that some difficulties arise because his wife is a Buddhist. The Church should attract children by providing extracurricular activities such as table tennis and music appreciation, he suggested. Emily Ma Khin San of St. Joseph Parish in Mandalay agrees the Church should pay more attention to formation of young people. The priest and nuns urge the children to go to catechism class, but the nuns do not always attend to them, she said. The 44-year-old mother thinks the parish priest should do more than just announce classes. Thet Khaine also thinks priests should do more than encourage parents to send their kids to catechism class. "Priests should teach catechism to adults, something they have not done," he said. END Related UCAN Reports MYANMAR Ministry Of Catechists Remains Challenging In Mandalay Archdiocese (November 6, 2006) MYANMAR Yangon Catechists Encouraged By Pledges Of Moral, Financial Support (September 18, 2006) MYANMAR Aspiring Catechists In Mandalay Get Local Training (May 13, 2005) PA02417.1444 May 8, 2007 53 EM-lines (576 words) PAKISTAN    Church Remembers Belgian Missioner Who Nurtured Local Leadership LAHORE, Pakistan (UCAN) -- Catholics from different cities of Punjab province attended the memorial service for an 86-year-old Belgian missioner they hailed as "a local hero." The Mass in memory of Capuchin Father Eubert Pollentier, held on the evening of Friday, April 27, drew 200 people to St. Mary's Church in the Gulberg area of Lahore, 270 kilometers southeast of Islamabad. Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore led the liturgy, concelebrated by Father Francis Nadeem, who heads the Capuchins' Pakistan vice province, and Father Adri Geerts, who heads the Capuchin province in Belgium. Father Pollentier, who served in the archdiocese for 48 years, died in Belgium on March 28. His services were acknowledged as priests, teachers and doctors placed bouquets in front of his garlanded picture. At the offertory Catholics from St. Mary's Church in Jamke Cheema, 115 kilometers north of Lahore, brought soil from their parish, which the late missioner founded. The Belgian priest, described as a "son of Punjab soil," was born on Feb. 25, 1920, and ordained a priest on July 25, 1948. He arrived in Lahore two years later, exactly 100 years after Capuchins first arrived in the area as chaplains to British soldiers stationed in what was then British India. Missionary work among local people started only after Belgian Capuchins came in 1889, according to local Church sources. Father Pollentier served as vice provincial and held various other responsibilities, such as director of Bethania Hospital in Sialkot and vice manager of two schools in the archdiocese. But he was eulogized especially for building up Jamke Cheema parish in an impoverished area of Punjab province. The missioner started the parish in 1954 and later established St. Mary's Convent and St. Mary's Boys High School and its associated hostel. Thousands got their basic education there, and dozens of alumni later became diocesan and Religious priests, helping to establish a truly local Church. At the service, priests shared their memories of the late missioner and how he inspired them. Father Nathaniel Bernard, parish priest in Jamke Cheema, praised the parish founder as "a son of the soil, a local Punjabi." Father Bernard described Father Pollentier as a strong supporter of local Church leadership, citing his handover of the National Marian Shrine's first pilgrimage committee to Punjabi priests in 1976. Speaking with UCA News after the service, Father Bernard said many local people including Muslims came to visit him after the priest's death to express their condolences for someone they had considered their baba, or father. Similarly, Doctor Tariq Perwaiz of Bethania Hospital said Father Pollentier had helped the Church solve many problems such as land-grabbing and unjust legal charges against poor Christians. Perwaiz, who used to study at St. Mary's school, also said the missioner also managed to get back hostel land from influential local landlords. "He had a thunderous voice and was never afraid to discuss matters in police stations," the doctor recalled, adding that he owed his medical degree to the late priest's inspiration. Father Emmanuel Yousaf, director of the Catholic bishop's National Commission for Justice and Peace, lamented that the missioner had to return to his homeland at the age of 78. He said something dies in him each time a foreign missioner leaves Pakistan. "While our local clergy have friends and family in their home places once they get old or sick, the missioners are not looked after in their parish homes, which do not have adequate facilities," Father Yousaf said. END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code PA02417.1444 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports PAKISTAN Innovative Bishop Remembered At Memorial Mass (February 8, 2007) PAKISTAN Scholar-Priest Remembered for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue, Harmony (April 17, 2006) PAKISTAN First Capuchin Formation House Opens In Lahore (June 13, 1990) PL02426.1444 May 8, 2007 60 EM-lines (657 words) PHILIPPINES    Northern Diocese Erects First Parish For Indigenous Isnag CARASI, Philippines (UCAN) -- Fifteen young Isnag swayed their hips and stamped their feet to the beat of gongs as they performed their Tadek dance during the Mass celebrating their parish's canonical erection. Clad in woven blue traditional attire, the dancers, mostly girls, made their way to the altar during the Offertory procession and laid down local products including an abaca mat, honey and glutinous rice. About 500 Massgoers, mostly Isnag residents of Carasi had crowded into and in front of St. James the Worker Church in the town, 370 kilometers north of Manila. Those inside the church, which has a seating capacity of 100, as well as those outside, took an active part in the Mass and cheered with joy when Bishop Sergio Utleg of Laoag formally entrusted the new parish to Father Greg Apuya. Speaking to UCA News after the Mass, the newly installed parish priest said St. James the Worker has come a long way from a bare chapel where Masses were held occasionally. Father Apuya, who was assigned here as resident priest three years ago, said the Isnag people in the mountainous Carasi area are coming closer to God. Speaking in Ilocano, the main regional dialect, the priest explained that previously, the Isnag "just watched" the priest during Sunday Mass, but now they join in and have learned the Mass responses. The Isnag are indigenous peoples originally from what is now Apayao province, who spread into what are now the adjacent provinces of Cagayan Valley and Ilocos Norte, where Carasi is located. Carasi residents who have embraced Christianity belong to a number of Churches and denominations, including the Union Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas (literally, union of Christian spiritists of the Philippines) and Iglesia ni Cristo (Tagalog for Church of Christ), Father Apuya reported. Isnag are the local majority, he said. The priest explained that as Catholics increased to 80 percent of the town's 2,500 people, he challenged them to try to establish a parish and they agreed. Catholic community leaders personally met with Bishop Utleg to express their desire to put up their own church in the area, he continued. With the bishop's approved, followed by dialogue with a priests' group, the community worked with different parishes and several businessmen in Ilocos Norte to raise funds. During the inaugural Mass, Bishop Utleg told parishioners in his homily that as "part of the Laoag diocese family," they are to "work together with the diocese's mission and vision in spreading the good news that love, peace, truth and happiness shall prevail in the service of God." He joked that when the community leaders first approached him, he asked if they could support a parish priest. Then, on a more serious note, the bishop explained that the establishment of the parish would help the people feel the presence of Jesus Christ among them. Before the Mass, which 24 priests concelebrated, the prelate formally blessed the new parish, then headed to the altar to start the Mass, as Father Noel Ian Rabago, diocesan chancellor, read the decree of canonical erection. The decree stated the "official recognition" of St. Joseph the Worker Parish as the 28th family church member of Laoag diocese. Bingbing Gaspar told UCA News after the Mass that she was "excited" and "happy," while another Isnag Massgoer, Erning Pascual, said he was "thankful" for having a parish where he could pray and serve God. The church's newly constructed altar features an image of St. Joseph, in honor of St. Joseph the Worker, whose feast is celebrated May 1. Laoag diocese has parishes in 20 of the 22 municipalities it serves, all except the remote towns of Adams and Dumalneg. The parish in Carasi is the first established since Bishop Utleg was installed as head of the diocese in January this year. According to Church data, Catholics form 67 percent of the 658,454 people in Ilocos Norte and Laoag City, which make up the diocesan territory. END Related UCAN Reports PHILIPPINES Northern Church Looks To New Bishop To Promote Unity Among Christians (January 15, 2007) PHILIPPINES Bishop Visits Northern Philippine Villages By Boat, Hiking (September 12, 1997) PHILIPPINES Land Remains Tribals’ Main Concern, Focus of Tribal Sunday (October 25, 1993) PHILIPPINES Anthropologist Says War Threatens Life of Northern Tribe (August 26, 1991) VT02404.1444 May 8, 2007 62 EM-lines (726 words) VIETNAM    Students Opt For Pilgrimage To Marian Shrine During College Break TANH LINH, Vietnam (UCAN) -- Instead of going to a tourist spot during their semester break, college students from Ho Chi Minh City visited a shrine where some youths claimed to see the Blessed Mother a few years ago. "I asked for faith in God's providence to help me in my studies and my financial difficulties," Maria Tran Thi Quang told UCA News. "I also prayed to Mother Mary for my left leg -- paralyzed since I was three years old -- so that I can become a nun to serve the sick in the future." The 25-year-old student said she was exhausted but happy upon reaching the statue of Our Lady of Fatima atop Mount Ta Pao, the 100-meter hill in Binh Thuan province where the shrine is located. The hill sits about 1,500 kilometers south of Ha Noi. Quang was one of 47 students from five Ho Chi Minh City colleges who made the April 19 pilgrimage. All but four of them were Catholics. Leader Mary Nguyen Huynh Ha told UCA News, "The pilgrimage sought to strengthen the faith of students who might be working part-time, studying overtime or spending their time gambling, drinking and hanging out on the streets." Ha, 21, who studies accounting, said her student group has more than 100 members, but only 30 regularly attend its weekly meetings at Thanh Linh church, in the city's Thu Duc district. Formed in 1994, the group brings students together to share the word of God, pray and study catechism with Franciscan priests and brothers. According to Ha, group members also visit centers for orphans and the mentally ill quarterly to provide supplemental care and conduct fun activities. They also have meetings with other students and join in Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese's pastoral activities for youth. John Tran Nhuan, a 22-year-old college student, has visited the Mount Ta Pao shrine seven times since 1999, when three students reported that they saw the Blessed Mother appear to fly to the other side of the mountain. He served as the group's guide. Nhuan told UCA News that visiting the statue is like "going home to see my beloved mother." He added, "I pray for God's grace to help me avoid sexual temptations and to practice the Catholic faith diligently." He also persuaded his three Catholic roommates to make the pilgrimage instead of their annual outing. In the past they would visit Buddhist pagodas in the city or other tourist destinations, Nhuan said. Another participant, Truong Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, said she begged God to help change her family's hostility toward Christianity. Thanh converted to Catholicism after she joined the group in 2003. The 22-year-old student said she also prayed for her Catholic boyfriend, since "he seldom goes to church and has not been to confession for two years." Mary ?inh Nu Hong Yen, a former group member who also joined the pilgrimage, told UCA News, "I came to the site just to ask what I should do to please God, Mother Mary and our neighbors." Yen, who is three months pregnant, climbed to the shrine with the help of her husband, also a former group member. She said she thanked the Blessed Mother for giving her many blessings such as a job that pays well and a good Catholic husband. The couple graduated from college in 2003 but continue to attend the weekly group meetings. After the pilgrimage, one of the four non-Catholic students said he wants to learn more catechism in order to be baptized. Ha said they all were moved when they saw hundreds of people who spent the night praying, reciting the rosary by candlelight and singing hymns, regardless of travel difficulties they faced or inclement weather. The pilgrimage started with a Mass celebrated by a Franciscan priest in a chapel at the foot of the hill, she said. The statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected 47 years ago and has become well known since 1999. Local people estimate 10,000 pilgrims come to the shrine on the 12th and 13th of every month, with up to 50,000 people on Marian feast days. The Church has accepted as authentic the 1917 apparitions of the Blessed Mother to three shepherd children near Fatima, Portugal. The children reported meeting her six times, once a month beginning on May 13 and ending on Oct. 13. END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code VT02404.1444 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports VIETNAM Crowds Who Pray At Revived Marian Statue Receive Spiritual Boost (October 28, 2004) VIETNAM Student Bicycle Pilgrimage To Marian Shrine Strengthens Faith (April 13, 2004) VIETNAM Pilgrims Urged To Learn From Blessed Mother's Example At Marian Shrine November 8, 2001) VT02419.1444 May 8, 2007 64 EM-lines (697 words) VIETNAM    Internal Migrant Workers Benefit From Salesian Recreational Center HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (UCAN) -- Vietnamese who have come to work in their country's commercial capital can take a break from their labor through sports and recreational activities at a Salesian center. Maria Nguyen Thi Sao, 20, contemplated a carefully arranged pot of red roses and yellow asters recently at the center in Ho Chi Minh City, 1,710 kilometers south of Ha Noi. The textile-company worker told UCA News she would place the flowers on the altar in the boarding-house room she shares with four other workers. Sao spends two hours on Sundays learning flower arranging, and making greeting cards and decorations at the center in Thu Duc district, which is home to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from throughout the country. The young woman from the northern province of Nghe An said that after working six 12-hour days, she enjoys spending her spare time here on Sundays with hundreds of other migrant workers. "My tiredness disappears as soon as I am in class," said Sao, who began the course last September. "I cannot go to other entertainment places to relax, because they are so expensive," she explained. And the center's free courses offer "skills that can make my daily life fresh and beautiful." While Sao and seven others were learning flower arrangement from a Salesian nun, young men played on the football field beside their class. Anthony Tran Minh Kham, 26, told UCA News his health has improved since he started playing soccer on Sunday afternoons. He is one of 22 Catholics on his 30-member team. Kham works for a furniture company. He said sports help him avoid social evils other male migrant workers get involved in such as drinking, gambling or watching pornographic movies. After the game, Kham also attends a weekly prayer session with 100 other workers. Salesians told UCA News that seven of their members serve the workers at the two-story center, erected in 2003 in the compound of Xuan Hiep parish. In addition to a soccer field, it has a basketball court. The center teaches dance and offers instrumental music lessons on playing the guitar, organ, flute and drum. It also offers sewing courses for women. Therese Tran Thi Ngoc Khang, 24, sat with five other workers under a shady tree, where they played Maria, the Virgin Queen on their flutes. "I look forward to the end of the work week so I can come to music class and meet my friends," she told UCA News. Khang, who works for a Taiwanese shoe company, said the activities at the center have made her "mature, bold, independent and confident in communicating with other people." The worker, who came to this southern metropolis in 2002 from the northern province of Ha Tinh, has been attending the music course since September. Her younger sister attends a sewing course. Anne Nguyen Thi Hue, 24, told UCA News that while attending dance lessons at the center, she met and married a Catholic worker who would come to play soccer and sing in the church choir. Hue, who moved to the city in 2001, said the activities provide opportunities for sweethearts to get to know each other before marriage, and to build their marriage on Christian values. The dressmaker explained that migrant workers do not have much time to look for future partners, so they easily fall into short-lived relationships, many having premarital sex and abortions as a result. Salesian Father Francis Xavier Nguyen Minh Thieu, 40, told UCA News recreational activities "free workers from physical exhaustion, the confines of their boarding houses and constant economic pressures." The secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese's Committee for Migrants observed that most migrants lack nutritious food, decent accommodations and clean water, and have little self-motivation for wholesome recreation. Father Thieu, who also teaches social communications, pointed out that the project at Xuan Hiep parish teaches life skills as well as values such as persistence, honesty, responsibility and cooperation. Records of the Committee for Migrants count approximately 150,000 Catholics among 2 million migrant workers in the city as of April 2006. Nine Salesians serve the 1,000 resident Catholics and 6,000 Catholic migrant workers of Xuan Hiep parish. END Related UCAN Reports VIETNAM Internal Migrant Workers Benefit From Salesian-Run Water Project (March 7, 2007) VIETNAM Church Launches 'Week For Migrants' To Strengthen Faith (February 7, 2007) VIETNAM Patients And Migrant Workers Experience Meaning Of Christmas Firsthand (January 3, 2007)