I was moved watching the coverage “Farewell to a Pope” from the last audience with the cardinals to the 20-minute flight to Castel Gandolfo. The camera followed the helicopter that brought Benedict XVI from the Vatican to the Castel Gandolfo. Though a panel was having a discussion on the reign and works of Benedict XVI, my gaze followed intently the helicopter as it passed by the historical landmarks of Rome like the Colosseum. At the Castel Gandolfo situated on top of a steep hill, a huge crowd awaited to bid farewell to Benedict XVI whose parting words “I am now a pilgrim, taking the last phase of his pilgrimage on earth” remind us that there is so much to do and to travel to do God’s will. Benedict XVI was deliberate in the timing of his announcement that he was resigning during the Lenten season, giving himself up to the Lord, and seeing to it that by the Ides of March the Cardinals shall have chosen a new pope, and by Easter there will be a new pope. I just realized that in my lifetime there were three Popes who were giants in their own right – Pope John XXIII during my students days, Pope John Paul II as a professional, and Pope Benedict XVI in my senior years. It was the Second Vatican Council that made me look at the Catholic Church with interest because it brought several changes in the liturgy making it more interactive and it opened many doors of dialoguing with other faith, cultures, and traditions, and it made the laity more participatory. The recent survey which showed that Filipinos trust more the church than the government serves as a reminder to the Church officials to listen more to the people especially the marginalized.
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The celebration of Women’s Month this year will have a different tone especially in the local scene. Different women’s groups have programmed various activities for the month. The women’s desks in schools have their own culminating activities; women NGOs also have their activities for their respective constituents. Some women NGOs will be holding seminars to government agencies which have not been aware of the CEDAW. The Provincial Women’s Commission will hold the Women’s Congress on March 22, 2013 at the Cebu Cultural Center in the UP Cebu Campus, Lahug. This year’s Congress theme is “Kababayen-an: Giya sa Pagsubay sa Matarong nga Dalan.” Since there was no GeRL Search last year, there will be a panel of resource persons to talk on the theme. The resource persons will be chosen from the 100 Cebuana Trailblazers, a project of the Provincial Women’s Commission in 2005 and 2010.
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The Second Lecture series on the Writers of Carcar resumed yesterday at the Audio Visual Room of St. Catherine’s College in the City of Carcar. Featured writers were Sinforosa Alcordo and Jovito Abellana. This is a project of the Cebuano Studies Center of the University of San Carlos headed by Dr. Hope S. Yu with the participation of the Department of Literature. The lecture series is held every month till June this year. For those who have the time especially those living in Carcar should take this opportunity to know and savor the writings of our local writers. You will never get this information from the books.
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Next week, the Library of the University of the Philippines Cebu is organizing a Book Fair on March 6 – 8, 2013 at the ILC – AVR , second floor of the Administration Building of UP Cebu in Lahug. The UP Press Bookstore Cebu which I am in charge will be participating. All books will be sold at a 20% discount. The books are written by UP Professors and published by the UP Press in Diliman. For those interested, there will be the folklore series (Epics, Legends, Riddles, Proverbs) and anthology of Filipino Folklore, Philippine Games, Women’s Studies, literature (poetry, fiction, essay, novel, literary criticism, anthologies), history, social science, mathematics and science education and other social issues. For more information re the book sale, contact 09173295201.