AN
OPEN LETTER TO CFC-FFL WORLDWIDE
April
30, 2008
My
dear brethren,
Grace
and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ!
The
turn of events
Events
have moved quickly since an article entitled “Vatican
admonishes CFC over GK” appeared on ABS-CBN
online news last April 16 (note: we had nothing
to do with that article, and the writer is unknown
to me/us). Then the letter of Cardinal Rylko of
the Pontifical Council for the Laity (Vatican) to
Joe Tale dated March 11 surfaced on the Net (note:
this did not come from us as we had no copy, but
came from them as they tried to downplay the ABS-CBN
news item). The letter told Joe about going back
to the essentials, and the priority of building
up the family, in fidelity to the Church. It talked
about counterbalancing the overemphasis on the social
work. It talked about the public scandal due to
the mistakes committed, and the need to correct
them. It urged Joe to issue a public declaration
in the Philippine newspapers recognizing the errors
and publicly apologizing. It directed CFC to stop
receiving funding (from those producing or marketing
contraceptives).
The
reaction of some on the CFC-GK side was fast and
furious. Boy Montelibano, the right-hand man of
Tony Meloto in GK, issued a series of writings,
basically maligning me, Bishop Gabriel Reyes, Cardinal
Rylko of the Vatican, and the Church hierarchy in
general. He used strong words such as Pharisees
and hypocrisy. Other newspaper columnists such as
Esposo and de Quiros, connected with Boy, joined
in on the personal attacks on me and on the hierarchical
Church.
We
are in a time of intense spiritual warfare!
God’s
action in our lives
Last
year, the Lord brought us to Lamentations, to teach
us a stern lesson, that we would lose it all if
we are unfaithful to our covenant, just as what
happened to His people Israel. I took command responsibility
for our collective guilt, and made a spiritual offering
of resignation from the Int’l Council. That
should have brought us back to God’s grace,
if we all repented and turned back from unfaithfulness
to our covenant and veering away from our calling.
But that did not happen, as there was disrespect
and disobedience to our bishops, and there was maligning
and attacks against those who wanted to restore
CFC to its authentic charism.
We
all allowed the enemy (the devil, our common enemy)
to enter our gates, with the result that CFC plunged
into deep crisis and then split.
But
given that bringing us to Lamentations did not have
the desired result, since there were those with
hardened hearts who would not repent and turn away
from errors, God then allowed the split to happen.
If we had not split, CFC would soon have disintegrated,
as the enemy wanted to destroy us all. With the
split, the tensions between the social and the spiritual
dimensions of our work were eliminated. We in CFC-FFL,
the restored CFC true to its authentic charism,
moved on, with great joy and starting to experience
the return of God’s anointing.
The
enemy, thinking he had succeeded in seriously weakening
CFC with the split, now saw God bringing victory
out of seeming defeat. He now saw the emergence
of a restored CFC, once again totally focused on
the charism given it. Once again God’s work
of family renewal and evangelization could proceed
in the power of His Spirit. And once again the enemy
raged.
Since
many bishops have recognized CFC-FFL, and since
the Holy See, through the Pontifical Council for
the Laity, has recognized the errors committed by
CFC, so now it is the hierarchical Church herself
that is under attack.
This
is where we see that indeed we are into more intense
spiritual warfare. The devil rages against the Church
and her authentic work. The conflict is not just
about us in CFC, but about the whole Church.
Call
to prayer
What
should we do?
First,
be not afraid. The gates of hell will not prevail
against the Church.
Second,
rejoice in persecution for the sake of righteousness,
for you are blessed (Mt 5:10-12). Such is God’s
way of purifying us and moving us on to holiness.
Third,
do not retaliate in kind. Continue to love your
“enemy” (the only real enemy is the
devil).
Fourth,
pray hard. Prayer is our lifeline to God, who is
merciful, kind, just and loving. We are His children.
He is committed to care for us. He knows our pains.
He allows crosses into our lives. But He has a great
plan for us, not for woe but for a future full of
hope.
Let
us pray for God’s protective mantle on us
all. Let us pray for our brethren who are in CFC-GK.
They are our brethren and not our enemies. And let
us pray for Mother Church, especially our bishops
who guide and pastor us.
I
ask every member of CFC-FFL, in addition to your
regular daily prayer and Bible reading, to look
to frequent participation in the Eucharist (daily
if you can), to regular family prayer of the rosary
(daily if you can), and to Eucharistic adoration
(if you are able). The different CFC-FFL groupings
(households, chapters, districts, etc.) should look
to communal prayer and intercession. The intercessory
groups should intensify their prayers. Let us also
pray the chaplet of the Divine Mercy.
I
also call on fasting twice a week. We, and the whole
Church, are into intense spiritual warfare. Certain
demons “can only come out through prayer (and
through fasting)” (Mk 9:29). We are on spiritual
war footing. Be fit for the fight.
Finally,
keep your hearts pure and humble. “‘God
opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.’
So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your
worries upon him because he cares for you.”
(1 Pt 5:5-7).
Rejoice
in the Lord
It
is appropriate that we in CFC-FFL have taken on
the theme of joy for this year. God loves us, God
has a great plan for us, God will never abandon
us, God turns our pains and crosses into sanctification
and holiness. And God is already victorious over
the enemy. What more could we ask for?
I
leave you with Peter’s wise words.
