PUNTO POR PUNTO: Complaint Against Anthony Taberna of ABS-CBN By Bro. Marwil N. Llasos

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

PUNTO POR PUNTO: Complaint Against Anthony Taberna of ABS-CBN

Ina: Our Lady of Penafrancia, patroness and queen of Bicol Region 

PUNTO POR PUNTO: A COMPLAINT AGAINST ANTHONY TABERNA

(AN OPEN LETTER TO ABS-CBN)

21 August 2012

ABS-CBN NEWS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation

Mother Ignacia Avenue, Quezon City

Attention: feedback@abs-cbnnews.com

                                                Re: Complaint versus Anthony Taberna

Secretary Jesse Robredo entrusted to the caring arms of Our Lady of Penafrancia, patroness of Bicol Region and Naga City where the late Secretary Robredo once served as Mayor

Gentlemen:

            This has reference to your tweet dated 21 August 2012 asking for the details of my complaint against Mr. Anthony Tabuena.

           

            In his segment Punto por Punto in Umagang Kay Ganda on 20 August 2012,[1] Mr. Taberna, a known member of the Iglesia ni Cristo, offended the religious sensibilities of Roman Catholics with his uncalled for, insensitive, unfeeling and insulting, if not arrogant, remark:

ABS-CBN news anchor Anthony Taberna's jab on our Catholic faith and the Bicolano's devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia           

“Jun Lavadia: Ipagpatuloy po natin ang pagdarasal. Ang milagro po ni Ina, Birhen ng Peñafrancia, pwede pong mangyari iyon. Kaya't ipagpatuloy po natin ang pagdarasal para sa kaligtasan ni Sec. Robredo.

            …

Anthony Taberna: Kasama n'yo po ang Umagang Kay Ganda para sa pananalangin sa ating Kalihim. Sa dami po ng nananalangin, hindi po imposible ang himala. Wala pong ibang makapagliligtas kay Sec. Robredo, kundi ang dakilang Diyos, ang nag-iisang Diyos, at HINDI KUNG SINU-SINO.”

            As a Catholic, Marian devotee and a Bicolano, I am deeply offended by the remarks of Mr. Taberna. Bicolanos, like the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo, are known to be ardent devotees of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Like Mr. Jun Lavadia, we ask for the miraculous intercession of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in times of need, especially for the unfortunate incident that befell our beloved fellow-Bicolano and former Mayor of Naga City, Sec. Jesse Robredo. The remark of Mr. Taberna intensified our sorrow and grief.

Anthony Taberna of the Iglesia ni Cristo offends the religious sensibilities of Catholics and insults the devotion of Bicolanos to Our Lady of Penafrancia

Mr. Taberna has no business telling us how to pray and who to pray. While we Catholics pray to God who Mr. Taberna rightly called “ang dakilang Diyos, ang nag-iisang Diyos,” we do however, pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession. The Blessed Mother is not a mere “kung sinu-sino” to us, she is the Mother of the Lord and our Mother, too. Mr. Taberna ought to respect that.

Mr. Taberna should be told to keep his religious bias to himself. He has no business using the airtime of ABS-CBN to take a jab at Roman Catholics, especially Marian devotees and Bicolanos, for praying to Our Lady of Peñafrancia and asking for her miraculous intercession. If Mr. Taberna would like to promote his religious beliefs as a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo and attack our Catholic faith and sensibilities, he is free to do so in Net 25 but not in ABS-CBN. He is even free to change his profession from that of a broadcaster to an Iglesia ni Cristo minister.

Detail of the face of the original image of Our Lady of Penafrancia

Mr. Taberna owes the Catholic televiewers of Umagang Kay Ganda and of ABS-CBN an apology for his uncalled for and insulting remark. He owes the Bicolanos, the constituency of the late Sec.  Jesse Robredo, an apology for the insensitive and unfeeling remark against our Ina, the Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia, in this time of utmost sorrow and grief.

Please inform the undersigned of any action taken regarding this complaint.

Thank you.

                                                                        Very truly yours,

                                                                       

                                                                        ATTY. MARWIL N. LLASOS, O.P.

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[1] http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/insights/08/20/12/punto-por-punto-prayers-pour-robredo.

Voyadores: Mayor Jesse Robredo, ardent devotee of Ina, a true Bicolano

Posted by Marwil N. Llasos, O.P. at 9:23 AM 11 comments:

THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL by Atty. Marwil N. Llasos

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Mary said "Yes" to Life: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Life, pray for the defeat of the RH Bill

The Reproductive Health Bill is Unconstitutional

            The Reproductive Health Bill (House Bill No. 4244) in its entirety is unconstitutional because its very premise is at war with the philosophy embodying the 1987 Constitution, dubbed as the Pro-Life Constitution.

            The RH Bill proponents hail it as a solution to poverty in our country. They insist that the RH Bill will spare children, especially those who are unwanted, from a life of poverty. The RH Bill will save mothers from emotional trauma brought about by child bearing. These arguments are not new. They were already discussed and voted on the floor of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. The result is the present Article II, Section 12 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

“Section 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.”

Constitutionalist Rev. Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., in his annotation on the 1987 Philippine Constitution, expresses the sense of Article II, Section 12 that it “denies that the life of the unborn may be sacrificed merely to save the mother from emotional suffering or to spare the child from a life of poverty.”[1] The commonsensical and constitutional solution to the problem was stated by Fr. Bernas, thus: “The emotional trauma of a mother as well as the welfare of the child after birth can be attended through other means such as availing of the resources of welfare agencies.”[2]

Atty. Marwil N. Llasos reads "The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A Commentary" by constitutionalist and member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission Rev. Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J.

What does Article II, Section 12 seek to achieve? Fr. Bernas answers that the provision was intended “primarily to prevent the state from adopting the doctrine in the United States Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade which liberalized abortion at the discretion of the mother any time during the first six months when it can be done without danger to the mother.”[3]

            Clearly, the provision constitutionally outlaws abortion. There’s no chance that abortion can ever be legal in this country as long as the 1987 Philippine Constitution stands.

Abortifacients kill human life!

But what about the RH Bill? Does it promote or facilitate abortion? The answer is a categorical Yes. While the RH Bill purports to recognize abortion as illegal and punishable by law [Sec. 3 (9)], it however mandates “[a]ll accredited health facilities [to] provide a full range of modern family planning methods” [Sec. 7]. Thus, the RH Bill is inconsistent as best, duplicitous and hypocritical at worst.

Atty. Marwil N. Llasos defends life and the Constitution under the gaze of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn and patroness of the Philippines

While the RH Bill recognizes abortion as illegal, it nevertheless allows the use of the “full range of modern family planning methods.” The RH Bill does not specify or list what these methods are; hence, they could include the IUD (intra-uterine device), the morning-after pills,[4] and even manual vacuum aspirators[5] – all of which are known abortifacients!

Copper IUDs prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus.[6] Hormonal IUDs slow down the growth of the uterine lining thereby making it inhospitable for fertilized eggs.[7]

Prayer Power Rally Against the RH Bill on August 4, 2012 (1:00-7:00 P.M.)

Morning-after pills, otherwise known as Plan B pills, is described as “the backup plan for times when your birth control method has failed, has been forgotten, or you weren’t on any form of birth control, and you don’t want to get pregnant. Whether you’ve missed a few pills, the condom broke or slipped off, or you forgot to insert your diaphragm.”[8] The Plan B pill can be taken up to 72 hours after “unprotected sex.” But what happens within 72 hours? Is it possible that the sperm has already fertilized the egg? Yes. And what does Plan B do in that eventuality? “If the egg is already fertilized, it prevents the egg from attaching to the uterus” (implantation).[9]

Contraceptives promoted by the RH Bill

Manual vacuum aspirators cannot hide its pretense as a mere contraceptive. It is in fact an instrument of death – an early abortion machine.[10] Is this among the “full range of modern family planning methods” (Sec. 7) or the “full range of methods, facilities, services and supplies” (Sec. 4) sanctioned in the RH Bill? The Bill is deceptively and fearfully silent.

Plan B Pills prevents the fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus thus killing it

The above examples of contraceptives within the RH Bill package prevent the implantation of the fertilized ovum in the uterus. Where does the Constitution come in in this regard? The 1987 Philippine Constitution categorically, unmistakably and unequivocably commands the State to protect the unborn “from conception.” Fr. Joaquin Bernas comments that “[t]he unborn’s entitlement to protection begins “from conception,” that is, from the moment of conception.”[11] What is the Constitutional intent? Fr. Bernas expresses it: “The intention is to protect life from its beginning, and the assumption is that human life begins at conception and that conception takes place at fertilization.”[12] It is crystal clear that the constitutional definition of conception is fertilization, not implantation. Human life begins at fertilization; thus the fertilized ovum has human life and the State has the constitutional obligation to protect that life.

Instruments of death: Ipas machine vacuum aspirator

Fr. Bernas concludes that Article II, Section 13 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution “reflects the view that, in dealing with the protection of life, it is necessary to take the safer approach.”[13] The RH Bill militates against this constitutional mandate.

On August 7, 2012, when the members of the House of Representatives make a crucial decision on the RH Bill, they must be reminded of their oath “to uphold and defend the Constitution.” To vote in favor of this unconstitutional bill is a betrayal of their sacred oath and of the trust of the sovereign Filipino people.

For a more in-depth legal critique of the RH Bill, please see:

http://fightrhbill.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-rh-bill-and-law-2-response-by-atty.html

The 1987 Philippine Constitution is a legacy of EDSA and CORY. We will go back to EDSA to remind the President to honor that legacy. It is the legacy of his mother that we want to preserve.

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[1] Rev. Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A Commentary (Quezon City: Rex Bookstore, 2003) pp. 84-85.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] http://theplanbpill.com.

[5] http://contraception.about.com/od/unplannedpregnancy/p/MachineVacuum.htm.

[6] http://www.emedicinehealth.com/birth_control_intrauterine_devices_iuds/page2_em.htm#how_an_iud_works.

[7] http://www.emedicinehealth.com/birth_control_intrauterine_devices_iuds/page2_em.htm#how_an_iud_works.

[8] http://theplanbpill.com.

[9] http://theplanbpill.com.

[10] http://contraception.about.com/od/unplannedpregnancy/p/MachineVacuum.htm.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid.

"I came so that yo might have LIFE, and have it more ABUNDANTLY" (Jn. 10:10)

Posted by Marwil N. Llasos, O.P. at 6:46 AM 31 comments:

WHY THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION? (A Reflection) BY MARWIL N. LLASOS, O.P.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

WHY THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION?

WHY THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION?

(A Reflection)

MARWIL N. LLASOS, O.P.

What is the Immaculate Conception?

      By Immaculate Conception we mean that God created Mary’s soul without any stain of original sin and preserved her from actual personal sin, and concupiscence or inclination to sin. She was created in the state of pure innocence and unspotted holiness.

In 1854, Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus –

“We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.”

Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Why the Immaculate Conception?

The Immaculate Conception is predicated on the Incarnation – of God becoming man. It is demanded by no less that the supreme dignity of God, who, for us and our salvation, became man. Thus, the basis for the singular privilege of the Immaculate Conception is the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. opines that “Mary’s predestination to the divine maternity preceded her predestination to the fullness of glory and grace.”[1]

Mary would give birth to the Son of God, the Word-Made-Flesh and God Himself (Jn. 1:1, 14). Since God would take on human form in the Virgin Mary, He made her holy and immaculate because she was to be His “house” for nine months. “Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever” (Ps. 93:5). Mary was God’s living “tabernacle” when He became flesh and dwelt among us. “The Most High hath sanctified His own tabernacle” (Ps. 46:5). The Immaculate Conception was, as it were, God’s way of sanctifying His own tabernacle in whom “God dwelt in the midst thereof” (Ps. 46:6).

"Tota pulchra es, Virgo Maria"

God is holy – holiness is one of His attributes. God is a thrice-holy God (Isa. 6:2-3; Rev. 4:8). God’s name is “holy” (Isa. 57:15). Mary knows and proclaims this truth in Luke 1:49: “For He that is mighty hath done great things for me; and holy is His name.” God’s name signifies his essence; hence, God is absolute holiness.

Since God is holy, no one can stand before Him or even approach Him (1 Sam. 6:20, 1 Tim. 6:15-16, Exo. 3:5). Sin is an abomination to a holy God (cf. Hab. 1:13). The holy God demands holiness from people (Lev. 19:2, 1 Pt. 1:16), especially from priests (Exo. 3:5).

The Panagia (All Holy): Masterpiece of God's grace

Mary’s dignity as Mother of God necessitates that she must herself be holy and spotlessly pure. Since Jesus as God can make His own mother, He made her “all holy” to be a fitting vessel for Him. Scripture teaches the absolute holiness of God: “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity” (Ps. 5:4-5).

Consequently, it may be asked: If Mary were a sinner and tainted with the slightest sin, would God dwell in her? Would God find pleasure in her? It would be unthinkable indeed for God to dwell with her. Moreover, In Isaiah 52:11 we read:

Our Immaculate Mother

“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.”

The Blessed Virgin Mary did not only carry the vessels of the Lord. She was the very “vessel” that carried the Lord Himself. And more than just a vessel, she mothered Him. Therefore, the highest degree of cleanliness is required of her. Mary should not only be clean, she should be IMMACULATE.

Bro. Marwil N. Llasos: Enamored with the Immaculata 

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[1] Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., The Mother of Our Savior and Our Interior Life (Rockford, Illinois: TAN Books, 1993) p. 20.

Posted by Marwil N. Llasos, O.P. at 6:40 AM 0 comments

REFLECTIONS ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION BY MARWIL N. LLASOS, O.P.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

REFLECTIONS ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

REFLECTIONS ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

MARWIL N. LLASOS, O.P.

 Viva la Purisima Concepcion!!!

The Original Plan

            From the very beginning, God’s plan for humanity was to be “holy and blameless in His sight” (Eph. 1:4).[1] In short, it is God’s plan for us to be “immaculate.” God created our first parents in the sate of pristine innocence and holiness. God made them according to His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27).

The Immaculate Conception

          This image of God is chiefly in our soul, which is a spirit, because God is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24). God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). This breath, I believe, is the Holy Spirit – the Breath of God (cf. Jn. 20:22). With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are filled with sanctifying grace which is God’s life in us. We are thus made to participate in the very life of God. We become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4).

The Original Sin

Man did not last in his intimate relationship with God. He took matters into his own hands, disobeyed his Creator, and fell from grace. The fall of man happened when he tried to be God after having been tempted by the Eivil One: “You shall be like God” (Gen. 3:5). Thus, man’s pristine innocence and holiness were lost and marred by sin in all its ugliness and hideousness. Man forfeited God’s life in him and passed on this sad condition to his children and their children, generation after generation: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5).

The Protoevangelium: The promise of a Redeemer

The First Good News

After the fall of Adam and Eve, there was at once a promise of salvation from God. In pronouncing the curse to the infernal serpent, God was actually announcing the first Good News – the Protoevangelium:

“I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” (Gen. 3:15).[2]

In the promise of a Savior, a Woman is likewise mentioned. This Woman is none other than the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Savior Jesus Christ. In the Catholic Church, we see in Genesis 3:15 a joint Christological and Marian reference. If Jesus Christ is the “Seed of the Woman,” then the “Woman” is the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother.[3] Jesus made clear reference to this by addressing His mother as “Woman” in Cana at the beginning of his public ministry (Jn. 2:5) and in Calvary at its end (Jn. 19:26-27). We see once again in Revelation 12 the epic saga of the Woman, her Seed (Child) and the infernal serpent (Dragon).

Defender of the Immaculate Conception: Blessed John Duns Scotus

The promise of Redemption entailed a New Adam and a New Eve – a Man and a Woman. Since the promised Woman (Mary) is at enmity with the serpent according to Genesis 3:15, she is never under the dominion of the serpent even for a single moment. That means that Mary never experienced alienation from God. This is so because she is “full of grace” (Lk. 1:28) – or sanctifying grace, the life of God in her soul. The Lord is always with her for she has found favor (charis, grace) with God (cf. Lk. 1:28, 30). Being full of grace, Mary never for an instance fell from grace, unlike Adam and Eve. Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior (Lk. 1:46-47). God, wo was to be her Son, saved her by the grace of the Immaculate Conception singularly and freely bestowed on her. Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit![4]

Blessed Pope Pius IX

    “We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful” (Blessed Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus).                 

Marwil N. Llasos, O.P. with Murillo's Immaculate Conception 

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[1] New International Version.

[2] Douay-Rheims Bible. The footnote in Genesis 3:15 of the Douay-Rheims Bible reads: “She shall crush … Ipsa, the woman; so divers of the fathers read this place, conformably to the Latin: others read it ipsum, viz., the seed. The sense is the same: for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent’s head.”

[3] Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the fruit of Mary’s womb (Lk. 1:42).

[4] Blessed John Duns Scotus’ argument based on fittingness.

Posted by Marwil N. Llasos, O.P. at 4:58 AM 3 comments