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.
