Bishops to CFC: Don’t drop mission for donors

Don’t sacrifice your principles for donors or partners. This was the reminder issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Thursday night to both factions the Couples for Christ (CFC), a week after it split up last week. “To evangelize is to follow the command of Our Lord Jesus: Make disciples of all nations ... CFC should not downplay or downgrade this purpose of CFC for the sake of getting more donors or partners," CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Laity and Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said n a statement on the CBCP website (www.cbcpnews.com) Thursday night. Reyes cited the complaint of Bro. Frank Padilla that “Couples for Christ, because of Gawad Kalinga, is veering away from the vision/mission of CFC and from Catholic teachings." Padilla also claimed that because of Gawad Kalinga, not enough manpower and resources are given to the other ministries like evangelization and catechesis. On the other hand, new CFC leader Jose Tale acknowledged “Gawad Kalinga is a child of CFC, is a ministry of CFC" and “that Gawad Kalinga cannot be separated from CFC." The original CFC with Gawad Kalinga under Tale “continues as a national and international private association of the faithful," while the group of Padilla “will form the Couples for Christ for Family and Life" and “should start as a diocesan association, “then later can apply for recognition as a national association if it has branches in other dioceses and even later as an international association." But Reyes noted another complaint by Padilla about Gawad Kalinga’s acceptance of donations even from corporations manufacturing contraceptives. “If Gawad Kalinga wants to operate more freely and more broadly than the vision/mission and nature of CFC will allow, then let it be a civic organization or an organization with a vision/mission and nature different from that of CFC," the bishop said. Reyes said the Pontifical Council for the Family “is against receiving funds from corporations that produce artificial contraceptives." “So there is an additional reason that urges Bro. Frank Padilla to object against receiving donations from drug companies that produce contraceptives," Reyes said. Dialogues have been made to address these complaints but eventually led to a stalemate. But Reyes admitted the CBCP “has no authority over the Couples for Christ in the national level," because “it can only make recommendations to the Couples for Christ." He said only the Vatican, “through the Pontifical Council of the Laity, has the authority over it in the national and international level," although every diocesan bishop has authority over it in his diocese as each diocesan bishop “has power to deny permission to CFC to function in his diocese, even if the association is international." The prelate said the CBCP through the Commission for the Laity “has the duty to inform the Pontifical Council of the Laity about the CFC regarding matters that it deems to be serious." “Since Bro. Jose Tale and the CFC Council committed to stop the practice of Gawad Kalinga from accepting funds from companies that produce contraceptives, the CBCP Commission for the Laity will not make any report about this to the Pontifical Council for the Laity." “In the light of this, the original CFC, with Gawad Kalinga as one of its ministries, retains its recognition as an international private association of the faithful, which was given by the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 2005," Bishop Reyes said. It will also remain its recognition as a national private association of the faithful, which was given by the CBCP in 1996, he added. Reyes said discussions were made whether the two contending groups can still unite. “After an exchange of views, the two groups decided that ‘the most acceptable option at the moment is to separate ways due to some clear differences in mission, charism, and other points of deep disagreement," he said. - GMANews.TV