Congress Statement As Of October 10

FAITH-BASED CONGRESS AGAINST ILLEGITIMATE DEBT Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) Center for Social Concern and Action-De La Salle University (COSCA-DLSU) Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) Integrated Pastoral Development Initiative (IPDI) InterCongregational Theological Center (ICTC) Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC)/Micah Challenge Philippines Institute of Spirituality in Asia (ISA) Kaalagad Katipunang Kristiyano (KAALAGAD) Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation CommissionAssociation of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (JPICC-AMRSP) Urban Missionaries (UM) Women and Gender CommissionAssociation of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (WGC-AMRSP) Working Group FDC ICTC ISACC-MICAH ISA JPICC-AMRSP KAALAGAD COSCA-DLSU

October 15, 2007, 8:00-12nn, Maryhill School of Theology (MST)

CONGRESS STATEMENT Sound the Trumpet of God’s Jubilee: Free the People from Immoral Debts Yahweh speaks through his prophet, Isaiah: " I now create new heavens and a new earth, and former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind again: • • • • • •

The sound of distress and the voice of weeping will not be heard in (Jerusalem) any more; It will not know of dead children or of a grown man not completing his days; They will build houses and dwell in them; They will plant crops and eat their fill; Their labor will not be in vain, nor will they bear children destined for misfortune, For they will be a people blessed by Yahweh, and their descendants with them." (Isaiah 65: 17-23)

This was the Oath made by Yahweh to his chosen nation, Jerusalem. This also is the Dream of the Creator for all of creation and those who inhabit it. Therefore, this also must be the Plan of God for the Philippines and all its people - a veritable paradise, marvelously endowed with nature’s beauty and prodigality; where individuals, families and communities, in harmony with the peace and generosity of all creation, care, share and look out for one another; where indeed only songs and cries of thanks, praise and jubilation will be heard! But alas! While God has remained steadfast and faithful to His Plan, peoples and nations have not. And instead have chosen the path of their own perdition: of self-centeredness and greed, of hierarchism and rivalry, of wars and of conquests. Instead of the Law of community and sharing, modeled by the Creator Herself, they opted for the law of the jungle – of the survival of the fittest and the damnation of the weak. Our nation and its people have not been spared by that choice. Our beautiful and bountiful land and its people have become its hapless victims. Foremost among our social ills is the debt trap we find ourselves in. Heavily into debt, we are forced into economic conditions that perpetuate dependency and poverty, so much so we can only pay the interest of these loans and not the principal. More than 50% of our national budget is used to pay for these loans, thus shrinking the funds used for social services and those needed for economic development. We have been in debt for more than forty years now! Our children’s children will forever be in debt. Faith-based communities are unfortunately stuck in merely providing discrete services to the poor, without addressing the larger context of why people are poor. There is a reluctance to engage in advocacy, to create a public voice and insert the cause of the poor into political space. The mandate to “open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all who are left desolate,” is clear, yet this remains unheeded for fear of getting ‘too political’ and stepping out of the boundary lines artificially set between church and state by secular society. (Proverbs 31:8 RSV) We need to confront the fact that sin can be institutionalized, embedded in unjust structures and entrenched systems of oppression. Often, on the side of the oppressor is power, and the

system crushes those who seek to change the order of things. There is a hardness, a mystery to evil that defies and taunts all attempts at social engineering: “What is crooked can not be made straight.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1, 10:8-9, 1:15 ) Consciousness of the tragic nature of sin in human life does not mean, however, that we lie supine before the overwhelming forces of systemic evil. It is precisely because we live in a fallen order that we work for structural safeguards against concentration of wealth and perpetual poverty. Scripture itself has a host of social legislation providing safety nets and the chance of being able to start again for those who have fallen on the wayside. Prominent among these is the Jubilee principle in Leviticus 25, which provides for a periodic re-arrangement of power relations and the equalizing of access to resources. Every 50 years, the playing field is leveled: families return to their ancestral lands, debts are cancelled, slaves are freed and there is a Sabbath rest for all. The Jubilee restores original ownership of lands to those who, by some misfortune, have lost their inheritance and hence bereft of their means of production and livelihood. Slaves and debtors walk away in freedom. All this breaks the poverty cycle and allows the people to start again. In giving rest to both land and people, meaning and enjoyment are also restored, something that is missing in the frenetic life system of many in the workplace today. Scholars say that the Jubilee was never implemented in Israel. Still, it remains as a compelling paradigm of what a just society looks like. How then do we move towards this kind of society? Let us work for the repudiation of illegitimate and immoral debts and free our people from virtual slavery. Let us proclaim the Jubilee and echo the sound of the trumpet all throughout the land! Let us free ourselves from this sinful social bondage of indebtedness and move onwards to the reign of justice and righteousness in our land! ALL ILLEGITIMATE DEBTS ARE IMMORAL! REPUDIATE ALL IMMORAL DEBTS! HOLD ALL THOSE RESPONSIBLE ACCOUNTABLE!

If you agree with the calls in this statement, please signify your support by filling up this Pledge of Commitment which read as: In the name of God, we declare: ALL ILLEGITIMATE DEBTS ARE IMMORAL! REPUDIATE ALL IMMORAL DEBTS! HOLD ALL THOSE RESPONSIBLE ACCOUNTABLE! We will build a movement to continue this fight against all immoral debts. Name (Printed): ___________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________ Contact numbers: ___________________________________________________________

Reference:

Fr. Ben Moraleda, CSsR, +63915-2455294 Dr. Grace Gorospe-Jamon, +63918-9638964

Reference:

Fr. Ben Moraleda, CSsR, +63915-2455294 Dr. Grace Gorospe-Jamon, +63918-9638964