June 28, 2009 in News

10th Biennial AMRSP Mission Partners' Convention Statement

Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. (1 Corinthians4:1)

WE, the Mission Partners and Secretariat of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, in our 10^th Biennial Convention, held in Holy Spirit Mission Service Center, Tagaytay City on June 24-26, 2009, after deep discernment:

HEAR the cry of the growing number of poor in our midst: the urban and rural poor, indigenous peoples, workers, migrants, political detainees,  women and children, they, who live in sub-human conditions because of  insatiable corruption, global economic crisis and recession;

WITNESS the unabated destruction of the environment, e.g., large scale mining making us all vulnerable to its effects – large scale mining, global warming, food scarcity, denuded forests, frequent natural disasters, pandemic diseases like the influenza A-H1N1;

PROTEST the demolition of the urban poor and homelessness, the landlessness of the farmers, the displacement of the IPs, joblessness and anti-labor policies, the marginalization of the fisher folks; the automatic servicing of immoral and illegitimate debt and the plan to recommission the BNPP.

CONDEMN the appalling extra judicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture of our Filipino brothers and sisters whose struggle is to defend their right to life and assert their basic human rights;

We also CONDEMN urban and rural militarization, the continuing war in Mindanao displacing more than half a million of our people.

We DENOUNCE offshore prostitution and human trafficking that enslaves our women, men and children;

REJOICE at the prophetic call of the Philippine Church, with the Plenary Council of the Philippines II to be a Church of the Poor.

INSPIRED by the teachings of Saint Paul and the exemplary leadership of Most Reverend Bishop  Broderick Pabillo, We, the Mission Partners of the Association of the Major Religious Superiors accept the four challenges that he posed:

To “…lead by example. We all have a leadership role among God’s people…we should not scandalize them. ..(instead) take into account the sensitivities and religiosities of the weak and the poor.:

To be stewards of our vocation, our mission and our message. Stewards who are “faithful to the truth of our message…our commitment to the poor and the oppressed.”

Be bold …stand up for the weak … especially in front of abuse or weaknesses of authority. The religious are the prophets in the institutional church, and in the Bible, the true prophets are fearless in front of authority.”

“Accept suffering, religious life is a public and serious commitment to the sequela Christi, the following of Christ.” The Mission Partners in the mold of Saint Paul are able to undergo great suffering because of their great hope that in the end life, truth, light, justice and fullness will triumph.”

OUR COMMON AGENDA, for the next two years, as Mission Partners, committed to helping realize and fulfill the AMRSP Vision-Mission, and  guided by the Convention Theme; Leadership and Animation Towards Living out of the Church of the Poor, shall be to:

• continue to pursue the twin thrusts of expansion and consolidation
• work together to creatively promote the Mission Partners to the different congregations
• help revitalize the Coordinating Council as a venue to create support and mutual cooperation
• encourage the religious and lay leaders to immerse in the lives of urban and rural poor, women and children and the workers as integral to their on-going formation.
• work together, unite for joint advocacy on pressing issues – anti ConAss, BNPP,  2010 elections, globalization, Human security Act, mining, land to the tiller, debt issue, human trafficking and violation against women and children, labor issue, militarization, global warming and extra-judicial killings.

“Religious life is to remind the world of what it can be, of what it must be, of what it most wants to be – deep down, at its best, at its human core. Religious live at the edge of society to critique it, at the bottom of society to comfort it, at the epicenter of society to challenge it.” (Joan Chittister, an American Religious Sister and writer)