The church takes a stand; Never again war

Pope Francis put the weight of his leadership of the Catholic Church with a plea for “Never again war” “War never again,” in Twitter.

Pope Francis sent his message to the entire world. In a letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, host of the G-20 summit he wrote:

“To the leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution.”

On Vatican radio he asked that everyone work for a peaceful solution.

 â€œRather, let there be a renewed commitment to seek, with courage and determination, a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation of the parties, unanimously supported by the international community.”

He called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, in the entire Mideast region, and throughout the whole world to be held Saturday, Sept. 7 (CNP: That was yesterday Philippine time).

In the Philippines, the appeal for peace coincided with the birthday pilgrimage yesterday to Mama Mary, Mother of all Asia at Montemaria, Batangas City with His Excellency Archbishop Ramon Arguelles presiding with a Mass in the morning at the Sto. Nino Chapel.

*      *      *

I received a very interesting post in my email comparing the highest paid executive with the highest paid senator. The executive is Manuel V. Pangilinan. He is the chairman of PLDT-Smart and the ABC Development Corp. (TV5).  In a year he earns P87.23 million. He comes fourth in the list of highest tax paying individuals. 

On the other hand the highest paid senator is Bong Revilla who earns P420,000 legally but with a pork barrel of P1 billion. His position in the list of taxpayers could not be found.

*       *       *

It is good that Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle has taken a stand on the economic condition of the country. His admonition should have been better directed at politicians.

The fault of business has more to do with the system that requires money from business for the high cost of campaigns in one man, one vote national elections. Because they are contributors to a candidate’s campaign, they expect to be returned in kind and the elected official bound to give concessions like being untouchable by regulatory agencies. 

*       *       *

And then there is the question of our lopsided media that he should have taken that I consider one of the most important tools of good governance. 

Those that do not adequately inform the public and most often are not printed or broadcast with public interest in mind. I think media will have to take the responsibility if it is in cahoots with corrupt elements of the government or allow themselves to be prodded by foreign interests. There is no even playing field in media.

Perhaps the closest we have had of a local newspaper that was published in the public interest was The Manila Times under Joaquin “Chino” Roces. He died an unhappy and disappointed man after the peaceful revolution in which he endorsed Cory Aquino for president.

Media needs the income from advertising to survive commercially and it is here that the Church can play a more active role by asking big businesses to support media dedicated to public interest.

*       *       *

Still the mild-mannered cardinal must be praised for the stand he took when he spoke to the Makati Business Club.  He was right on the mark when he questioned the alleged economic growth because higher GDPs do not a successful economy make. He is right to ask the question where does all this growth go? He comes down strongly on this.  â€œIf majority of people do not experience it, what type of growth is that? Is that genuine growth?” he said.

*       *       *

MISCELLANY: For all booklovers this column invites readers to come to a major event from Sept. 11 to 15 at the SMX Convention Hall. I will attend the fair dubbed the Manila International Bookfair and autograph copies of The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos. I will be at the Asiatype booth  no. 445-446 on Wednesday and Sunday p.m.

From my old friends, The Saudis comes this invitation from His Excellency Ambassador Abdullah Al-Hassan to celebrate the kingdom’s national day on Sept. 23 at the Rizal Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-la.

And of course I would not miss this important invitation for The Art of Translating Erotica to be launched at the DLSU. That will be on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. The project is a joint effort of De La Salle University, the Embassy of Spain and Instituto Cervantes and the Cacho Hermanos.

The novel was written  by one of Spain’s most beloved Spanish authors, Gonzalo Torrente Ballester. It is translated into Filipino for the very first time. It was originally titled Crónica del rey pasmado (The King Amaz’d: A Chronicle), this version translated by Marlon James Sales is entitled Ang Kuwento ng Haring Tulala.

Set in 17th century Spain, his highness is possessed with the idea of seeing his queen in the nude. “Restricted by the strict customs of court making this very wish nearly improbable, he resorts to get rid of his urges by visiting the quarters of Marfisa, the Spanish court’s most renowned courtesan” says the press release. What could be more interesting than that?

The author, Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (1910-1999), was a novelist, essayist and playwright during his time. In 1995, he received the Cervantes Prize, the most significant literary award in the Spanish-speaking world.

The translation steers away from highfalutin vocabulary while still displaying the beauty of Tagalog and strives to appeal to a wide readership. For the translator, Marlon James Sales, the biggest challenge was how to handle translating Spanish erotica into the vernacular while staying faithful to a tone that would have been what was used in the 17th century.

 Marlon James Sales is a translator, researcher and professor of Spanish. Marlon has done literary and non-literary translations, the most important of which are Our Father San Daniel and The Leprous Bishop (UST Press, 2011 and 2012), his own version in English of the classic novels on Oleza written by Spanish writer Gabriel Miró.

So glad that the world goes on despite its many problems. I missed the 51st anniversary celebration of the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company last Friday but never too late to give my congratulations to one of the top banks if not the top bank in the Philippines.

(CNP: Please fax invitations to me at 02 8505109.)