DAGUPAN CITY - “Where’s the attack, insult or offense?”

This was asked by Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese, reacting on the furor over the lecture of Pope Benedict XVI on September 12 at the University of Regensburg in Germany.

Cruz, former president of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, reviewed the lecture of the Pope and came up to the conclusion that the focus of this was the relationship between faith and reason.

He stressed that the substance of the Pope’s lecture is a threefold truth. First, faith and reason are compatible, second, faith illumines reason functions, and third, reason affirms faith acts. Read more

by Restituto C. Basa - From the Saltbeds

ON NOVEMBER 21, 1982, the venue of the annual feast of the Cristo Rey was the town of Mabini in Western Pangasinan.

Just when the image of the Sto. NIño was most needed at the altar, to serve as the center piece of the celebration, the icon was missing.

So the feast went on, minus the Sto Niño icon. Sayang. The Sto. Niño is the patron saint of the town. Read more

MANAOAG, Pangasinan - Some 100,000 pilgrims and devotees are set to flock to Manaoag during the coming Holy Week as part of their yearly devotion to the Blessed Mother.

This was disclosed by Mayor Napoleon Sales who said the number is just a conservative estimate because on Sundays, even when it is not Holy Week, the devotees swell to some 30,000 to 40,000 alone.

“We expect a bigger crowd on Holy Week, especially on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, than on ordinary Sundays, that is why we are preparing for their short stay,” he said. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - The Catholic church in the Philippines is seeking a stronger program to address the plight of the poor, according to House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr.

De Venecia said this was conveyed to him last Friday by Cebu’s Ricardo Cardinal Vidal who made a short stop at his residence at Bonuan Binlco on his way back to Manila.

Cardinal Vidal just attended the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Rite of Episcopal Ordination of Monsignor Marlo Peralta as Bishop of Urdaneta Diocese where he was a principal consecrator. Read more

by Restituto C. Basa (From the Saltbeds)

FOR this year, 2006, April 9 has double significance to us Filipinos.

As we are Christians, we mark the day as Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem and he was hailed by pilgrims as the son of King David. The pilgrims gathered palms which theys spread along his way to the temple of Jerusalem.

It was also on this day, in 1942, when Bataan fell to the Japanese invaders.

As per our religious faith, it is a day of triumph. We mark it as the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

In the history of our nation, it is a day of defeat. Our valiant soldiers, who took the stand in Bataan, surrendered to the superior forces of the Japanese invaders. Read more