NEW WASHINGTON, Philippines (UCAN) -- A bishop pulled the rope to raise the cover off a 13.5-foot (4-meter) statue of a smiling Cardinal Jaime Sin on the deceased Church leader's 79th birth anniversary Aug. 31.
The cardinal's provincemate and former secretary, Bishop Gabriel Reyes of Antipolo, just east of Manila, led the unveiling ceremony. It was held in the plaza outside Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church in New Washington town, Aklan province, 350 kilometers southeast of Manila.
More than 1,000 people gathered at Cardinal Jaime L. Sin Park for the unveiling, blessing and dedication of the statue and accompanying marker. Bishop Reyes and Ambeth Ocampo, chairperson of the government's National Historical Institute (NHI), led the program. Senate President Manuel Villar and Speaker of the House Jose de Venecia Jr. were among the national and local government officials present for the occasion.
In his address, Bishop Reyes described Cardinal Sin as a Church leader who spread God's word through storytelling. "Cardinal was known for his sense of humor, which was appreciated by Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and many others," the bishop added.
Mother Teresa, now known as Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, "rejected" the cardinal's invitation to visit in the mid-1970s, Bishop Reyes recounted. The cardinal reportedly responded by telling her that after he died and the Lord asked why he failed to care for poor Filipinos, he would say it was because "Mother Teresa of Calcutta refused" to help.
"So Mother Teresa came to the Philippines to help the cardinal build a home for the homeless," Bishop Reyes said. In 1977, she established a Missionaries of Charity community in Tondo, then Manila's largest slum area, and she returned in 1989 and 1995.
Cardinal Sin's brass statue, mounted on a 3-meter base, was donated by Antonio Cabangon Chua, former ambassador to Laos, and "friends." As an "extraordinary tribute" to his "longtime friend," Chua commissioned Ronald and Jonell Castrillo to create the statue. The brothers are nephews of national artist Eduardo Castrillo, also a sculptor.
During the program, de Venecia announced that Congress approved on Aug. 21 a bill naming a coastal road in Aklan "Jaime L. Cardinal Sin Highway." He said the House of Representatives also approved in principle that day a resolution "commending and giving due recognition" to Cardinal Sin for his "lifetime dedication and spiritual guidance to the Catholic Church and his salutary contribution to the republic's struggle to preserve" democracy.
Ocampo dedicated the marker below Cardinal Sin's statue. In his message the historian said the NHI normally takes decades to deliberate about issuing markers, but "NHI executives agreed it was proper to immediately approve" one for Cardinal Sin.
Catholics readily acknowledge Cardinal Sin's role in the nation's history. Retired government employee Antonia Regalado, 68, told UCA News after the ceremony, "I feel proud of my townmate, who earned the title of hero of the EDSA (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) Revolution."
She expressed a wish that many priests will "follow in his footsteps as a fearless servant of God."
Cardinal Sin was ordained a priest for Aklan province's Kalibo diocese in 1954. After his episcopal ordination in 1967, he served as auxiliary bishop and later coadjutor archbishop of Jaro (Iloilo), an archdiocese south of Kalibo. He became Jaro's archbishop by succession in 1972 and Manila's archbishop two years later while the country was under martial law (1972-1981). Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal in 1976.
He died in Manila in 2005, nineteen years after he called over the Church's radio station for people to pray on EDSA for the nonviolent resolution of a coup against President Ferdinand Marcos. More than 1 million people heeded his call, and Marcos left the country a few days later.
The cardinal's younger brother, Ramon Sin, thanked Church leaders, politicians and guests at the unveiling. He said, "Our family will always remember the works of the cardinal and those whom he touched with his life."(www.ucanews.com)
1 comment:
The smiling statue of the Cardinal reminds me of how he probably would laugh at the thought that it takes a non-Aklanon, by the name of Ambassador Antonio Chua, to raise a statue in his honor. And what a shame to the Aklan government not to have the initiative to commemorate one of the greatest Filipinos of the 21st century, who happens to be an Aklanon. Jaime Cardinal Sin was an important figure in the effort to cultivate democracy and better government in the Philippines.
After the fall of the dictator Marcos, the corruption in Philippine government remained high. He is best remembered by his wisdom and humor, like when he commented about graft and corruption, he said, "WE GOT RID OF ALI BABA, BUT THE FORTY THIEVES REMAINED."
Allow me to share an excerpt from his homily delivered during the “Day of Commitment to the Poor” launching of Parish-based Family Life Center, Manila Cathedral, and some 14 years ago on this same day – the birthday of the Blessed Virgin - September 8, 1993. The message is still valid until this day.
DAY OF COMMITMENT TO THE POOR
By His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin
…So many people are discovering that the quest for happiness apart from God inevitably leads to boredom, frustration and depression, and the disintegration of marriages and families.
So many people are discovering that money, after all, isn’t what life is all about; that fame after all, isn’t what life is all about; that power, after all, isn’t what life is all about; that accepting God’s love and entering into a lifelong love affair with God is what life is all about.
By accepting God’s love, in this way, we become whole; we become the uniquely beautiful human persons God created us to be. And out of this wholeness comes the strength to love other people in a life enhancing way – not manipulating them. Not trying to dominate them, not trying to take life from them; not trying to use them.
Our people do not have the money to buy food for the stomachs of their children and to sustain the education of our youth, not only because there many mouths to feed.
THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE MOUTHS TO BE FED. THE PROBLEM IS IN THE HEARTS AND HANDS THAT ARE NOT READY TO SHARE. The problem is not in the increasing birth rate. THE PROBLEM IS IN DIMINISHING JUSTICE AND CHARITY IN OUR LAND.
We are still poor because businessmen are afraid to invest in our country DUE TO RAMPANT GRAFT AND CORRUPTION IN PUBLIC OFFICE.
…Let action triumph, not intentions. IF PUBLIC SERVICES WILL BE RENDERED WITH INTEGRITY AND HONESTY, OUR ECONOMY WILL IMPROVE, WITHOUT INTERFERING IN THE RIGHTS OF FAMILIES. IF CRIMES WILL BE SOLVED MORE SPEEDILY, IF PEACE AND ORDER WILL BE MAINTAINED MORE CONSCIENTIOUSLY, THE ECONOMIC PROGRAM THAT WE ARE ASPIRING FOR WILL BE A REALITY.
Our attention is focused on the issues of population while growing number of our elected officials are feasting on the bribes and grease money of those who seek their favours.
….Let us not compromise with evil. Some are shaken by the thought that the reign of terror which we thought we ended after EDSA 1986 is once again attempting to come back to rise havoc upon our unknowing people…
Those who are attempting to discredit the authority of the Church, better be careful. The army of goodness cannot be silenced by the noisiest guns. The army of God cannot be intimidated by the powers of this world.
The power of God and His church cannot be handcuffed by manipulation. We are strong with the strength of God.
….Allow me to appeal to those who are leaders of this country to set aside their ambitions to allow our country to recover. Each godless plan, each graft case solved, each crime unpunished is an added pain on the empty stomach of our hungry millions.
Even an ambitious thought can be a crime against a man deprived of his last hope for survival. Those who lust for power are not the person who can solve the problem of poverty.
I would also encourage those who are poor to understand, that they are themselves the solution to the economic ills of their communities and of our suffering people at large. Let us unite to be self-sufficient.
No one is totally poor that he has nothing to contribute to others. Let us cease from thinking that our economic recovery will depend on outside help. God has gifted us with many natural and personal resources. Let us not keep them hidden but unearth them to benefit everyone. Most of all, let us no longer allow foreigners to profit and flourish at the expense of the blood and honour of our Filipino brothers and sisters.
With Our Lady and Eucharistic Lord, may all our people unite in humble acceptable of the great task to build a new Philippines and a new world with the power of faith and confidence in God. Amen .
Your eminence, we thank you for your help in bringing back democracy to our country. We thank you for making us proud to be an Aklanon. And we thank you for being God’s wonderful gift to all Filipinos. You shall never be forgotten!
Requiescat in pacem!
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