INC™ Invaded the Vatican and Waved INC™ Flag at the Papal Palace Window

[The title was just a sarcasm. That flag isn't belonging to the Iglesia Ni Cristo® a church founded by Mr. Felix Y. Manalo in the Philippines in 1914. Although some members use the same symbol in many occasions as their identity symbol but that's the ITALIAN FLAG!]

Italian Bishops Conference donates ten million Euro to Caritas Italy

The major donation, is aimed at supporting the diocesan Caritas in their work to support people in difficulty due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

By Vatican News

The Italian Bishops Conference said in a statement the 10 million Euro donation will be distributed to the 220 diocesan Caritas throughout Italy.

The donation will be used to identify the most urgent needs, giving priority to forms of economic support for families already in situations of hardship. This includes the purchase of basic necessities for families and people in difficulty, support for lonely elderly and frail people, and the maintenance of services for people in situations of extreme poverty, such as canteens with take-away services or sheltered dormitories.

The director of Caritas Italy, Fr Francesco Soddu said, "this extraordinary donation from the Italian Episcopal Conference (IEC) is a concrete sign of hope and comfort for the diocesan Caritas (network). In this way, the local Churches will be able to continue the strong dynamism of charity".

Caritas Italy is also renewing its call for solidarity by inviting everyone to support the initiatives and work of the dioceses and local Caritas that are aiding people in difficulty and in increasingly precarious conditions.

30,000 Pabahay ng Iglesia Katolika sa mga Biktima ng Yolanda

Ang Iglesia Ni Cristo® -1914 ay mayroong 500 na pabahay lamang samanatalang ang tunay na Iglesiang tatag ni Cristo ~ ang "Iglesia Katolika na sa pasimula ay ang Iglesia ni Cristo" (ayon sa Pasugo Abril 1966, p. 46) ay may 30,000 pabahay para sa mga biktima ng bagyong Yolanda.

“This is our Church not giving up on her people." - Fr. Edwin Gariguez of Caritas Philippines

Church builds more than 30,000 houses for Yolanda victims

Posted: November 16, 2018 CBCP News

By Roy Lagarde

November 16, 2018

Manila, Philippines

Official figures show that the Catholic Church built more than 30,000 homes in different provinces devastated by the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon on record.

The figures were announced Friday during Caritas Philippines’ commemoration of the 5th anniversary of typhoon Yolanda in Palo, Leyte.

Started in 2014, the church’s 3-year rehabilitation program focused on shelter, livelihood, water, sanitation and health, community organizing, community-managed risk reduction, ecosystems recovery and institutional capacity building.

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Caritas Philippines’ Executive Secretary, said that Caritas Internationalis was instrumental in ensuring not only funds but also experts in the fields of recovery and rehabilitation.

“That is why we were able to accomplish so many things,” Gariguez said.

“In 2013, we at Caritas Philippines didn’t even thought that we’ll be capable of implementing what would be the Church’s most massive, largest-funded and most comprehensive humanitarian response,” he quipped.

The number of houses built does not include yet the shelter projects of various religious congregations and other church-based groups.

The priest said each of the Caritas organization doing bilateral programs in the dioceses ensured collaboration, thus maximizing all available resources, reaching more than 1.4 million Filipinos.

He was referring to Caritas Internationalis member organizations namely, Catholic Relief Service, Caritas Switzerland, Caritas Italiana, Caritas Belgium, Caritas Germany, Development and Peace (D&P), Caritas Austria, and Cordaid.

He added that being able to able to build thousands of houses speak of the dedication and commitment of the Church “to better the lives and restore the dignity” of typhoon victims.

“We are very proud of this accomplishment, yet humbled by the experience,” Gariguez stressed.

The houses were constructed in the provinces of Leyte, Samar, Easter Samar, Palawan, Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan, Capiz, Antique and other areas devastated by super typhoon Yolanda.

The Church’s over-all Caritas response amounted to more than P3.2 billion.

INC™ among those who were helped by Caritas Manila

135 children to graduate from Caritas Manila’s Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program
By Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual 
Business Mirror

Caritas Manila, the social services and development ministry of the Archdiocese of Manila, will see the graduation of 135 children ages 3 to 12 this August from malnourishment through its Integrated Nutrition Program.

The children are from Barangay 649, also known as Baseco compound. All of them are from less- fortunate families. They are of different religions, such as Catholics, Christians, Muslims and Iglesia ni Cristo, and have undergone the six-month integrated program to improve their health.

The Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program aims to educate families in urban-poor communities in Metro Manila, most especially mothers and women, about dietary programs and nutritional continuity and improve the health condition of malnourished children. Its goal is to help families help their communities become free from malnourishment. We do this not only by feeding the children but also by educating households, especially mothers.

Caritas Manila, through its Damayan program, works with the local government units (LGUs) and parishes in identifying families and children that need to be part of the program. For the first month, Operation Timbang was done with the help of the Barangay Health Office to assess the nutritional health of the children.

As part of the program, once a week and usually during Saturday professional health volunteers and trained health staff from Caritas Manila provide seminars and modularized training through “Gabay sa Kalusugan”. Participants are usually the parents of the children undertaking relevant activities that emphasize the importance of continuous nourishment, such as orientation on diet-management education, exploring planned based diet, proper food preparation, maintenance and sanitation of food production, different health hazards and other related activities to meet the needs of the participating communities.

Volunteers from the community also extend their full support to the program by giving their time, particularly on food preparation using nutrient-enriched Manna Pack Food Supplements. MannaPack Fortified Rice is made of rice, soya and dehydrated vegetables, while MannaPack Fortified Potato is made of potatoes with sweet potato flavor. Malnourished children are fed five times a week for six months. At the end of each month, the children are weighed to measure the improvement in their nutritional status.

Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program is the Church’s response to fight malnutrition in densely populated communities where circumstances of deficiency are palpable. It was launched by the Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation (PnPCFI), then headed by Cardinal Gaudencio B. Rosales and 13 other bishops in July 2005 in partnership with Assisi Development Foundation (ADFI) and Feed the Children Philippines (FTCPI). CBCP-NASSA Caritas Filipinas Foundation, Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) and Risen Savior Missions (RSM) also joined the efforts of Hapag-Asa in fighting malnutrition in the Philippines.

Based from the records of Caritas Manila, more than 2,000 malnourished children from Tondo, Payatas and Baseco have graduated from the Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program in 2016.

Interested parishes and organizations that want to bring the essence of Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program to their communities may contact +(632) 562-0020 to 25 or visit at Caritas Manila Inc., 2002 Jesus Street, Pandacan, Manila. To help Caritas Damayan and to get more information about the program, e-mail caritas_manila@yahoo.com

Caritas Damayan is the preventive health and disaster risk reduction and management program of Caritas Manila.

Photo Source: Caritas Manila