THY4 FINALS

Pope Francis Encyclicals

• Considered groundbreaking in a sense that he addressed topics that were not addressed before.

• Based on the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.

  • Pope Francis idolized him and his advocacies

Laudato Si

• Means “Praise be to You”.

• A simpler document written on June 18, 2025 about awareness, protection, and generally taking care of the environment by the Church.

• It is a universal call, for everyone.

• Considered groundbreaking in a sense that there were no church documents about the environment before.

• Let us be responsible in taking care of the environment.

Rerum Novarum

• Anthropocentric— more on economic justice.

• how to have just wages for workers.

• More on social justice— aligned with justice for the poor.

Integral Ecology

• 1 of 3 key points of Laudato si

• integration of ecological reasoning.

  • Made up of education & dialogue.

  • Taking care of the environment is a dialogical effort.

    • Proper research should be done in order not to damage the ecosystem.

Genesis Chapter 1

• 1 of 3 key points of Laudato si

• You are in dominion of all creation.

  • Pope Francis includes other species such as animals & plants as the creation of God.

  • We are responsible for everyone and everything.

 Scientific, Political, Moral, and Spiritual problem

• 1 of 3 key points of Laudato si

• Example: Global warming = greenhouse gases = carbon emissions = damaged ozone layer/pollution of water, air, land, and noise = inability of trees to filter out pollution = inability to release carbon dioxide.

• Example: Politicians use their money to destroy the environment, build subdivisions, illegal logging = damaged biodiversity, no shelter for animals & indigenous people.

• Practice responsible stewardship.

Less is more

• Father James Martin highlighted a new lifestyle: _ is _ .

  • You will help the environment by not engaging in throwaway culture.

  • Simple lifestyle = key for environmental protection.

Fratelli Tutti

• Written on Oct 4, 2020 during the pandemic.

• All about healing yourself— a letter to ourselves.

• Addressed necessary social issues that were not discussed much but arose during the pandemic.

  • Divisions & Hatred

  • Discrimination & Racism

  • Poverty & Inequality

  • Selfishness & Indifference

  • Wars & Conflict

  • Isolation & Pandemic

• Most of these issues are caused by bad governance.

• We should create a culture of encounter.

  • Be inclusive and ready to take care and look after one another.

Divisions & Hatred

• Fratelli Tutti

• Pope Francis wants us to recognize our attitude of hatred.

  • How can you get out of hatred for others?

  • Hatred creates divisions.

    • The Pope acknowledges that there are inherent divisions.

  • We should let go of division and hatred.

    • Don't let your trauma hurt other people or to project your trauma onto them.

Discrimination & Racism

• Fratelli Tutti

• there is discrimination in race, gender, social class, and religion.

  • It becomes a cycle.

  • The oppressed becomes the oppressor.

  • It promotes two attitudes:  listening and inclusivity.

  • The main principle of the church is universality.

  • Refrain from using derogatory words.

Poverty & Inequality

• Fratelli Tutti

• they are not just economic issues but also moral and spiritual ones.

• Root cause of social ills and calls for a shift from individualistic approaches to a more fraternal and solidary perspective.

Selfishness & Indifference

• Fratelli Tutti

• Pope Francis calls us out because we are living in a world of selfishness.

  • Our survival instinct is always the preservation of ourselves.

  • Pope Francis wants us to reflect if we are being too selfish already.

Wars & Conflict

• Fratelli Tutti

• there is no good in wars.

  • People who thrive during conflict or war are indifferent people.

  • We should promote a society where there is no conflict or war

Isolation & Pandemic

• Fratelli Tutti

• talks about mental health.

  • Pope Francis highlights the feeling of isolation during the pandemic.

  • We are down because of isolation, which leads to burn out.

Gaudete et exsultate

• Means “Rejoice and Be Glad”

• A call for universal holiness

• Saints, blessed, servants of God

• Inspired of saints

• According to Pope Francis

  • Deep relationship with God

  • Having a deep relationship with God is doing good things

• Middle class of holiness

Gnosticism, Pelagianism

• Two mistakes we often encounter 

  1. _ : You know about God but you are not living his teachings

  2. _ : Kasama palagi ang relationship with God, hindi lang ang pagiging banal

     • Holiness is effort alone, bawal doing good things lang

Beatitudes

• Matthew 5:3-10

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

• Trust in God, not in things

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted

3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

   • Stay calm, don't be rude to other people

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

   • Be generous with what you have

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy

• Forgiveness, not for the sake of other person but also yourself 

• Forgive others and let go of grudges

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God

   • Don't be the reason why there’s conflict

8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

   • Stand up for what is right

• Matthew 5:3-10

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

   • Trust in God, not in things

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted

3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

   • Stay calm, don't be rude to other people

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

   • Be generous with what you have

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy

   • Forgiveness, not for the sake of other person but also yourself 

   • Forgive others and let go of grudges

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God

   • Don't be the reason why there’s conflict

8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

   • Stand up for what is right

Avoid pride and righteousness, Be yourself

1. Avoid _ and _

   • Be humble

2. Be _ 

   • Don't pretend to be someone

   • Be yourself, be the best version of yourself

     • God made you unique so don’t compare yourself to others

Christus Vivit (Chapter 4 & 8)

• Synod with the youth 

• Chapter 4: You are not just the youth of the future, but of the present

  • Do good things now

• God loves you despite your feelings of unworthiness

Paragraph 115

• Many young people today struggle with the thought of being loved

  • Struggles with the feeling of being unloved

  • We always struggle to find love from others

  • We often tend to connect our happiness with romantic relationships 

• We are capable of being loved and loving

• When we love people, we go beyond the validations

  • We don't set any conditions in love

• There are people who loves you

• Wag tingnan ang mga taong hindi ka mahal

  • Appreciate those people who love you instead

• Wag manghinayang if single ka or alone

  • God loves you

  • Your family loves you

  • Friends

• God loves you despite your feeling of unworthiness 

• Christ saves you

Culture of the Ephemeral

• Everything is seen as temporary, disposable or short-lived

• Culture that avoids permanence 

• Ayaw sa commitment

Paragraph 122

• Young people places their value on themselves, on their net worth, on their achievements and; 

  • We look at life with the things that we achieve

  • We tend to pursue ideologies and fame

  • We forget to appreciate what we already have

• You have to accept the reality that everyone will not be a super star

  • Of course, you will strive the best 

• Your worth is not just attached to titles 

  • Life is not a race

  • We have different pacing

• We do not need to chase success and wealth to justify the meaning of our life

• Young people tend to lose hope and disheartened

  • The future always looks bleak

  • You look forward to something positive

  • It’s okay to mess up in life as long as you will learn to how to get back up

    • That is what hope is

• Don't confine yourself to the things that you have not done instead, look forward on the things that you can be

  • As the now of today, be hopeful

• Do your best in the simplest task given to you 

  • Because it is building habit

Vocation

•  purpose in God's plan

  • It is important to discern

  • Does not always require pure intentions because God will purify it for you

Poverty Photography

• Photography of the world’s poor is a powerful tool. 

  • Photographs offer a visual language, one that situates the viewer in a specific moment and allows headlines and statistics to become real and palpable. 

  • Many non-profit and news organizations have utilized photography of the world’s poor in order to inform, mobilize and inspire the public to further help those in need.

• Photography can inspire empathy and mobilize viewers to care more about the world around them. 

  • This is especially true for photography of the world’s poor. However, along with photography’s power comes an ethical responsibility to ensure that it does not objectify or exploit its subjects.

Poverty Porn

• With photography’s power comes consequences.

• Photography of the world’s poor has the potential to objectify and exploit its subjects. 

  • Some describe such photos as “poverty porn.”

• This type of photography is not only one-dimensional, but it is dangerous. 

• Creates a culture of paternalism and objectification that paints the viewers as saviors and reduces the poor down to their struggles.

• Disregards a community’s capability, strength and resilience, and instead “evokes the idea that the poor are helpless and incapable of helping themselves.”

Justice for the poor

• Our quest for harmony with God and with all creation in response to God's call to stewardship does not end in our concern for nature alone but flows into our concern for one another, especially the needy.  

• Pope Francis (Laudato Si’): there is an "inseparable bond"  that links concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.  

• "A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach."

In an extended way, we are brothers and sisters not only with our blood siblings but

Old Testament Witness

• Israel's experience of oppression in Egypt and how God delivered His people from slavery and injustice through his servant, Moses.  

• Writings of the prophets who denounced the injustices committed against the poor by God's people and their leaders in the various stages of their history. 

• Israel's fundamental experience of election and liberation by God despite their sinfulness and unworthiness is a thread that runs through the Hebrew Bible and continues to the New Testament.

New Testament Witness

• How Christ proclaims and actualizes the "Good News to the Poor" that he was sent to proclaim, bringing "liberty to the oppressed, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom to captives" as the prophets had foretold (cf. Lk 4:18).  

• Mystery of the Cross and the Redemption

  • Place where the maximum of injustice is ultimately defeated by the transforming faith and love of the Savior.

Church Witness

• Documents from different periods in the history of the Church to see how the Church has understood and lived out this mission from the time of Jesus to our present time.  

• Some of these texts will include excerpts from the writings of the saints, quotations from Church Councils and papal encyclicals, passages from the documents of the Second Vatican Council, all the way to the teaching of
  our present Pope, especially Evangelii Gaudium.

Pertinent CBCP Pastorals

• To Bring Glad Tidings to the Poor 

• Poverty that Dehumanizes, Poverty that Sanctifies (2014), 

• The Dignity of the Rural Poor: A Gospel Concern (2007), 

• I Was Homeless and You Took Me In (1997) and 

• On the Plight of the Poor (1991).

To Bring Glad Tidings to the Poor

• the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, raises a number of points that are worth deepening: 

  • that sharing, for a Christian, is not just a matter of choice but of conscience

  • that poverty in the Philippines, although it has been decreasing on the national level, continues at "scandalous" levels in certain areas such as the ARMM where almost half of the population live below the poverty line

that the problem of poverty is not to be blamed only on the government or in societal structures but we must accept our own responsibility for it.

Poverty that Dehumanizes, Poverty that Sanctifies

• It served as the CBCP's Lenten Message for that year, attempts to distinguish between different forms of poverty experienced on the material, moral and spiritual levels 

• to offer a "framework" for discerning which ones are destructive and which ones are helpful for our spiritual life.

The Dignity of the Rural Poor: A Gospel Concern

• Written at the end of the Year for Social Concerns, the bishops focus on the rural poor whom they call "the greatest victim of our unjust economic order" and called the transgression of their dignity as "a negation of Christian love."  

• Firstly, the document dispelled the common impression that poverty in the Philippines is concentrated in urban areas.  

• Secondly, it decried the poor implementation of agrarian reform programs, even accompanied in certain cases with the extra-judicial killing of farmers.  

• Thirdly, it called to task the government, those who have "official responsibility," while inviting everyone to examine their conscience with regard to their own personal contribution to the problem.

I Was Homeless and You Took Me In

• Tackles the issue of the adequate housing, which John Paul II defined as a full human right in his Lenten Message for the same year.  

• The bishops praised the message of the Pope as being especially timely for the Philippines, then encountering issues of mass demolitions of informal settlers for various reasons, not always just. 

• "Most are done in the name of development, which however often turns out to be soulless."  

  • In line with this, they called for the humane implementation of evictions with "adequate provision for suitable relocation."

On the Plight of the Poor

• First, it tackled the issue of the relation between poverty and sin, stating that: 

  • The suffering has been aggravated by the insinuations of some that these calamities are punishments from God for personal and social sins.

• Second, it highlighted the need to provide sustained and long-term assistance leading to rehabilitation and recovery beyond merely giving immediate relief to the victims

  • "Our mission demands that we lift our people out of their dehumanizing poverty.  We must make it possible for the poor to live in dignity, and in honor, as the children of God.  To become the Church of the Poor is our vision.“

Justice and Charity

• _ and _ are both rooted in the social dimension of the gospels. Both reflect the same gospel mandates.

• Both can be powerful Christian responses to human need.

Science and Technology as Part of Culture

• Scientists and inventors develop medicine, technology, and knowledge to help people live better lives.

• Example: The invention of the internet has changed how people learn, communicate, and share ideas.

Family and Society

• Culture teaches us how to relate to others.

• Example: Filipino values like “Bayanihan” (community helping each other) show how culture shapes a caring society.

Art and Religion as Cultural Expressions

• Throughout history, people have used painting, music, and literature to express their deepest beliefs and experiences.

• Example: Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel show Christian faith in art, and Philippine folk dances tell stories of the country's history.

Culture is more than traditions

It is everything that helps people and society grow—from science to customs, from art to religion. By developing our knowledge, improving society, and sharing our experiences, we contribute to the progress of all humanity.

Religion, Interreligious Dialogue, Dialogue, and Proclamation

Religion plays a vital role in shaping human beliefs, values, and interactions with the world. In today's diverse and interconnected society, understanding religion, engaging in interreligious dialogue, and balancing dialogue and proclamation are essential for peaceful coexistence and spreading faith respectfully.

Religion

•  a system of beliefs, practices, and moral values that connects human beings to the divine, the sacred, or ultimate reality. It often involves worship, rituals, community life, and ethical teachings that guide human behavior.

Key Aspects of Religion

• Faith and Worship: Religions provide ways for people to express their faith through prayer, meditation, and rituals.

• Moral and Ethical Teachings: Many religions teach values such as love, justice, kindness, and forgiveness.

• Community and Identity: Religion fosters a sense of belonging among its followers.

• Sacred Texts and Traditions: Scriptures and oral traditions pass down religious wisdom and beliefs.

Examples:

• Christianity believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and follows the Bible.

• Islam follows the teachings of Prophet Muhammad as recorded in the Quran.

• Buddhism emphasizes enlightenment through meditation and moral living.

• Religion influences personal life, cultures, and even global affairs, making interfaith understanding crucial.

Interreligious Dialogue

Interreligious dialogue is a respectful and open conversation between people of different religious traditions to promote mutual understanding, peace, and cooperation. It does not aim to convert others but to foster respect and common ground.

Dialogue of Life, Dialogue of Action, Theological Dialogue, Dialogue of Religious Experience

• Types of Interreligious Dialogue

  1. Everyday interactions where people of different religions live and work together peacefully. 

     • Example: Christians, Muslims, and Hindus working together in a community project.

  2. Cooperation in social justice, humanitarian efforts, and community development. 

     • Example: Different religious groups uniting to help victims of a natural disaster.

  3. Discussions between religious leaders and scholars about beliefs and doctrines. 

     • Example: Catholic and Muslim theologians discussing the concept of mercy in their faiths.

  4. Sharing spiritual practices and experiences. 

     • Example: A Christian participating in a Buddhist meditation retreat to understand mindfulness.

Importance of Interreligious Dialogue

• Promotes peace and tolerance in a diverse world.

• Reduces misunderstanding, stereotypes, and conflicts among religions.

• Encourages cooperation in solving social issues like poverty and injustice.

Dialogue

• Dialogue is the respectful exchange of ideas, beliefs, and experiences between people, particularly between different religious traditions. It involves listening, learning, and finding common values.

• Goal: To build relationships, promote peace, and understand other faiths better.

  • Example: A Catholic priest and a Muslim imam having a friendly conversation about their shared belief in caring for the poor.Di

Proclamation

• Proclamation is the act of sharing or announcing the Gospel message of Jesus Christ with the intention of inviting others to faith.

• Goal: To spread the message of salvation while respecting others' freedom.

  • Example: A Christian missionary explaining the teachings of J

Balancing Dialogue and Proclamation

The Church teaches that dialogue and proclamation are not opposed but complement each other (Redemptoris Missio, Pope John Paul II).

• Dialogue is about understanding and respect; proclamation is about sharing one’s faith.

• True evangelization requires both, depending on the situation and the readiness of the people involved.

Example: A Christian may first engage in dialogue with a Buddhist friend by discussing shared values like compassion and justice. Over time, if the friend expresses interest, the Christian may share more about their faith (proclamation).

Key points

• Religion provides meaning and ethical guidance in human life.

• Interreligious dialogue promotes peace and cooperation among different faiths.

• Dialogue fosters understanding, while proclamation shares the Christian message.

• The Church encourages a balance of both, respecting others while faithfully witnessing to Christ.