The Way Forward #4

October 1, 2007

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus!

Much has happened in the past month. The restoration movement continues to pick up momentum. In the Philippine provinces and in the different countries where the movement has been started, a majority of the brethren are going with us. We simply present the truth and make the brethren aware of the issues, and without any intimidation or coercion, and oftentimes even without any invitation, many are opting to be with the true and restored CFC, which is CFC-FFL.

The other side has accused us of sheep stealing. That is nonsense. The sheep belong to the Lord, and we ourselves are part of His sheepfold. As we have said before, we are CFC. We have not left the spiritual body that is CFC. We in fact have a greater right to be CFC than those who have veered away from God's call to CFC. And it is our responsibility to see to it that the Lord's sheep have the same opportunity we have to be in the right place. It is the individual decision of every CFC member to decide where his heart brings him, and not be dictated to by anyone. Be assured that we in CFC-FFL will not abandon you.

I had also suggested to quite a few countries that the way to keep themselves united is to insulate themselves from the conflict in Manila. However, the other side has not cooperated in this. In fact, they are actively moving to take control of the different countries. As such, the need now is to insulate the different CFC countries from the veering away from our original charism that is represented by CFC-GK under the Int'l Council. The almost total focus on the work of nation building in the Philippines, together with the concentration of much of our global resources on this, is not to the interest of our global family. I know that the interest of our brethren globally is evangelization and family life renewal. And this is what CFC-FFL wants to restore.

As such, I invite our CFC brethren throughout the world ..... align yourselves with us. For our brethren in the Philippine provinces, consider starting your restoration movements. Since generally your top leadership has kept the issues from you and have decided on your behalf to align your province with CFC-GK, you may think that you may be the only one for restoration. You will be pleasantly surprised. Based on what we have experienced so far, there will be many of you, even a majority, whose heart will be for CFC-FFL. Contact and network with them. Do not be afraid. In due time we will visit you for a restoration assembly. For our brethren in other countries, get in touch with us and we will integrate you in the restoration loop. Then we can look to arranging a pastoral visit at the opportune time. Together as one global family in CFC-FFL, we can all look forward to a future full of hope, as we restore CFC's original charism.

I would like to inform you of our theme for 2008. It is from the book of Zephaniah. Our theme is "Our joy in Christ," taken from Zephaniah 3:17. Lamentations has been for us a journey of hope and joy. This year we persevered in hope. Next year we fully express our joy.

God bless you.

In the service of Christ,

Frank Padilla

P.S. We find that many brethren who fell away in the last few years are now excited to come back to CFC-FFL. They look with anticipation to the restored CFC. I suggest the rest of the year is a good time to focus on bringing old members back, without holding back of course on our ongoing evangelization.

P.P.S. For more info on the issues, please go to our website < www.cfceastergroup.org>. You may freely disseminate these materials to others.

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