AMID the frenzy over the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Manila and over such “hotties” as Trudeau of Canada and Nieto of Mexico, another international conference was being held in the country that gathered the hotties of the philosophical world, mainly from Catholic institutions, expounding on the thought of the influential French philosopher Paul Ricœur (1913-2005).
The conference, “Paul Ricœur and Asia,” was held Nov. 19-21 at the Ateneo de Manila University and University of Santo Tomas.
Born to a Protestant family, Ricœur and his views have appealed to Catholic philosophers for combining phenomenology and hermeneutics and coming up with a humanist perspective, as against the reality—and God—denying strain of much of postmodern thought. Hermeneutics originated from biblical exegesis of the Christian fathers and later developed by scholastics like St. Thomas Aquinas during the Middle Ages.
At the conference, Richard Kearney of Boston College, an expert on European modern and postmodern thought, held a video conference on “Reimagining the Sacred.”
Other international speakers: Olivier Abel of the Institut Protestant de Théologie, Paris-Montpellier, France (Un christianisme epique/A Christianity in the Epic Sense); George Taylor of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, United States (Practical Hermeneutics: The Legal Text and Beyond); John Carlo P. Uy of Charles University, Prague (The Question of the Self in Ricœur and Marion); Boyd Blundell of Loyola University New Orleans, United States (Summoned to Heaven: The Narrative Subject of Salvation); Roger Savage of University of California, Los Angeles, United States (Exemplarity and the Law of Superabundance); Cristal Huang of Soochow University, Taiwan (Paul Ricœur’s Approach toward a Narrative Theology); George Taylor of University of Pittsburgh and Fernando Nascimiento of Pontificia Universidade Católica de Campinas, São Paolo, Brazil (Reading Ricoeur with the Methods of the Digital Humanities); Morny Joy of University of Calgary, Canada (Paul Ricœur: From Fallibility to Fragility and Ethics); and Ming Yeung Cheung of University of Saint Joseph, Macau (Identity and Solidarity in Asia: The Case of Macau).
The closing plenary address was given by Leovino Garcia of Ateneo (Between Responsibility and Hope: The Legacy of Paul Ricoeur).
Los Baños parish fiesta
The Immaculate Conception Parish in Los Baños, Laguna, will celebrate its fiesta from Nov. 29 to Dec. 8, which is the feast of its patroness, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Novena Masses will be held on Nov. 29 to Dec. 7, at 5:30 p.m. (4 p.m. on Sundays).
On Dec. 8, Masses will be held from 4 to 9:30 a.m., and from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Grand procession will be at 6 p.m.
New Argentinian prelate
Pope Francis has named Fr. Carlos Azpiroz Costa, O.P., as coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
Fr. Azpiroz is immediate former master general of the Order of Preachers (O.P.), which has recently opened its worldwide one-year celebration of the Dominican Jubilee to mark the 800th anniversary of the order founded by St. Dominic de Guzman from Spain.
A civil and canon lawyer who studied at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires and the Angelicum in Rome, Fr. Azpiroz is 59 years old and was procurator general of the O.P.-based in Santa Sabina in Rome before he was elected O.P. master in 2001 to succeed English Fr. Timothy Radcliffe.
Both Fathers Radcliffe and Azpiroz have been to the Philippines.
Radcliffe himself has recently been appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace.
The Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca occupies much of the south of Buenos Aires, where Pope Francis was formerly Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio. It covers 82.625 sq/km with a population of 757,000 Catholics.
Fr. Azpiroz’s episcopal ordination will be on Dec. 22.
Inapoon Bato
Sonia Atabug of the San Lorenzo Ruiz and Inapoon Bato Global
Ministries concludes her account of the late Rosellyn Magsaysay and how she propagated the Marian devotion to Inapoon Bato:
“In 1981, Mother Therese Vicente, foundress of the Holy Face of Jesus, brought the image to Rosellyn Magsaysay and entrusted to her the promotion of the devotion to Ina who was canonically blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1985 at St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
“Until her death last year, Mrs. Magsaysay had visited and brought the Lady nearly to all the dioceses in the country. She had also taken it to the United States, Europe and other Asian countries, including China.
“Testimonies of miracles and answered prayers attributed through the intercession of Ina and Mrs. Magsaysay’s journey with the Lady will soon be published in a book being supervised by Governor Magsaysay and daughter Angel Cheng.
“Devotees from all over the country went on a pilgrimage to Taipei in 2011 where Rosellyn introduced Ina to the people of Taiwan in 2000 when she brought and had Ina enthroned at St. Christopher Church frequented by Filipinos.
“Today, Ina is being venerated by Filipinos and Chinese alike in more than 10 churches. The author was a witness to a moving sight where a long queue of Chinese nationals lined up to pay homage to the Blessed Mother and to the healing session presided by Monsignor Cacho.”
Free prayer cards
For readers who would like to receive free prayer cards, write to “Miss Josephine Darang c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer, Chino Roces Ave., Makati City.” Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for easier mailing.
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