Religion

By Ferdinand Patinio, 4 Sep 2020 MANILA – Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani Jr. on Friday expressed hope that the government would allow more faithful to attend Masses in churches.

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Thoughts on its future Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now. By Ayaan Hirsi Ali. HarperCollins; 272 pages; $27.99 and £18.99. NOT many people have lived deep inside a ruthlessly patriarchal, theocratic world and also won acclaim in the great bastions of Western, liberal thought. Even fewer can describe the contrast with insight, and that…

Francis disturbs me because he is the Pope of the doable, and this makes him difficult to ignore. How can I share his quotes and not follow the Pope? MANILA, Philippines – Popes usually speak the big words.

GENEVA – In 13 countries around the world, all of them Muslim, people who openly espouse atheism or reject the official state religion of Islam face execution under the law, according to a detailed study issued on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – More than 50 percent of Filipino Catholics are not married in churches, according to a nationwide survey conducted recently by a Catholic-run radio station. Sociology professor Clifford Sorita said yesterday that the Radio Veritas “Truth Survey” showed that the unions of a majority of Filipino couples were not blessed in churches.

PARIS – Traditionally Catholic Ireland has registered almost the steepest drop worldwide in people calling themselves religious in a new survey tracking international trends in faith and atheism in recent years.

A Philippine-sponsored resolution pushing for interfaith dialogue towards global peace and development has been adopted by the United Nations (UN). The Philippine mission to the UN said that the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution to spur global efforts for comprehensive peace and development.

MANILA, Philippines – Fewer Filipinos seem to be getting married in church, and those that do tend to be older. In an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life executive secretary Fr. Melvin Castro said, “There is another trend in marriages and that is, Filipinos…

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile has expressed alarm over the reported “meddling” of religious sectors in the fight for the Senate presidency, noting the apparent violation being committed by the religious groups on the principle of the separation of powers of Church and State.

It should be clear to everyone by now that, except perhaps for the Iglesia ni Cristo, there is no such thing as a “religious vote” in the Philippines.

Sonny Mendoza, who as president of the LTA Condominium Association must have a good idea of what hell is, sent me this classic anecdote as his way of contemplating hell during Holy Week.

THE Philippines was singled out for praise by the United States for exerting “special efforts” to respect religious freedom and tolerance, as well as promote interfaith dialogue in the world arena, according to a recent report by the US State Department.

MANILA, Philippines – US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has commended the Philippines’ international interfaith initiatives, particularly the Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace.

MANILA, Philippines – Conversion from Christianity to Islam is most typical among overseas Filipinos who have lived and worked in Islamic countries, largely because conversion brings social and economic benefits while abroad, according to the US Department of State 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom.

THE US State Department released its annual review of international religious freedom, singling out the Philippines and Jordan for promoting interfaith initiatives and criticizing China and Israel for intolerance.

This is a record third consecutive long weekend. And choosing my topic today inexorably brought me back to that oft-invoked but still misunderstood principle of Church-State separation which our Constitution says is inviolable (Article II Section 6). Obviously the reasons behind Malacañang’s declaration of September 7 (today) and September 21, 2009 as special non-working holidays…

THE leadership of the politically influential Iglesia Ni Cristo is expected to pass to Eduardo Manalo, 53, with the death of his father, Eraño Manalo, 84, of cardiopulmonary arrest.

DAGUPAN CITY , Philippines  – Only 10 out of 100 seminarians go on to become priests, and of those ordained, two percent would usually ask for dispensation.