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Visita Iglesia on April 17, organizers request donations of rosaries, Bibles
The Catholic Fellowship of Young Filipino Professionals is inviting the community to join in the April 17 observance of the Visita Iglesia, a Filipino Lenten tradition. Participants to the Visita Iglesia pray the Stations of the Cross in their visit to seven Manhattan churches. The event begins with Holy Thursday mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral […]
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Fordham to confer honorary degree on Cardinal Luis Tagle
Fordham University has announced it will confer an honorary degree upon His Eminence Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, on Friday, March 28. The Cardinal will also celebrate a special Mass on campus on Saturday, March 29, according to a press statement. Attendance at these events is by invitation only. This is […]
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Feast of the Three Kings officially concludes the season of seasons
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. In our Christian Doctrine classes as youngsters, when we were able to read stories accompanied by multi-colored illustrations of Christmas, the Three Kings’ significant role was always part of that season of seasons. The Philippines held the reputation as one of the countries that had the longest celebration of the […]
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Being Catholic and a journalist
By Veronica Velarde-Pulumbarit Not too long ago, my husband Riz and I missed the daily Mass for the first time in about 16 years. On vacation in a village where there was only one Mass a day, we waited for the priest to show up but we were told he was very sick to officiate. […]
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It’s OK to say ‘Merry Christmas’
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. As greetings go, is there still a big hoopla over “Merry Christmas”? Based on the very recent observations that some stores reportedly removed the word ‘Christmas,’ from their displays and ads, indeed, there is a visible ingredient missing. Many felt offended when they found out that ‘Merry Christmas’ was replaced […]
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A FilAm family celebrates Rosh Hashanah
By Jenjen Furer and Roz Furer I am blessed to have been married to a Jewish family. My four children get to experience a little bit of the Filipino Catholic tradition and a little bit of the Jewish family tradition. Mom, as I call my husband’s mother, was born and raised in Brooklyn. Her parents […]
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Pope Francis, a champion for the poorest of the poor
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. Clearly in accord with his initial comments on poverty-stricken areas he has seen even before he became the first pope from the Americas, Pope Francis was described very recently as having waded into the heart of Brazil’s slums, his very first ‘away’ trip from his post at the Vatican: “the […]
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Time to ‘unfreeze’ the law and make Reproductive Health available to women
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. July 9 is the first day the Philippine Supreme Court will begin to hear oral arguments on Law 10354, also known as the Reproductive Health law. The High Tribunal, voting 10-5, issued a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the law. Recalling what has taken place since the RH […]
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Did bullying from the pulpit hurt the Catholic Vote?
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. If the homeland’s May 13th Election Day statistics were to be pursued, there should be very little wonder or none at all, about the existence of what was referred to as the Catholic Vote. Evidently, as the results started to pour in just after a few vote canvassing days, it […]