List of Fr Shay Cullen's Articles
Helping
the hungry feed themselves - Fr
Shay Cullen | July 28, 2010
My first encounter with death by starvation was in Olongapo City many years ago when I was called out to bless a dead child. I was led to the hovel made of cartons and plastic sheet where the three year old was about to be buried. Read more...
PHOTO: The Preda staff together with Volunteers from different Countries help feed street children, a new program by the Preda Foundation.
Fr Shay's Recent Articles:
Fair-Trade
Antidote to Social Injustice - Fr
Shay Cullen | July 21, 2010
Last June, I traveled widely in Mindanao. I traveled first across parts of Northern Mindanao to Gingoog City in a space of three hours and passed about 20 giant trucks stacked high with logs destined to the plywood mills or to the ships for export. Read more...
PHOTO: Decades of illegal logging, unusually high rainfall and geography have all contributed to the devastation wrought by storms that have lashed the Philippines, the government and environmentalists say.
Fair-Trade
Can Change an Unjust Trading System - Fr
Shay Cullen | July 14, 2010
Fair-trade has been an important part of my work in life since I first came to the Philippines 40 years ago and today it is more important than ever. It all began when I started a small handicraft basket and rattan chair making project in Olongapo City to help street youth and drug dependents find a self-reliant livelihood and restore their self-esteem. Read more...
PHOTO: Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards.
The
Loss of Credibility - Fr
Shay Cullen | July 07, 2010
The Catholic Church Hierarchy in the Philippines is strongly opposing the introduction of sex education in the public schools. They say it will encourage youth to engage in premarital and promiscuous sex, learn about contraception and lead immoral lives. Sex education, they say, is the duty and responsibility of the parents not the governments. Read more...
PHOTO: Philippine elementary and high schools will start teaching basic sex education as a pilot program in the conservative Roman Catholic nation brushing aside concerns by church leaders that it may encourage promiscuity among the youth.
A
Nation Crying Out for Justice - Fr
Shay Cullen | June 30, 2010
There is a new Philippine president. Noynoy Aquino has stepped into the challenging role as “hope of the nation” and has selected his cabinet that promises a corruption free Philippines. Read more...
PHOTO: Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (born February 8, 1960) also known as Noynoy Aquino is the fifteenth President of the Philippines
Sheila
O'Hara Visits the Sex Bars - Fr
Shay Cullen | June 23, 2010
When Sheila O'Hara, that intrepid social investigator continued her journey in the Philippines, with Melinda her friend and interpreter, she went to the cities and towns well known for their sex tourism business to gather data for her theses. Read more...
PHOTO: Sexual trafficking is an international phenomenon, including sexual slaves from around the globe. Men and boys are sexually trafficked, but 90 percent of this trade in human flesh happens with women and girls.
An
Open Door and Home for Victims - Fr
Shay Cullen | June 16, 2010
Not long ago, I was asked to write an article on a Papal apostolic prayer. I used to think of such prayers as long and windy, padded with unpronounceable words and hardly intelligible. Read more...
PHOTO: War, persecution and torture force many children to flee on their own in many countries
No
Justice for Child Sex Slaves - Fr
Shay Cullen | June 09, 2010
The outright dismissal by Philippine prosecutors in Olongapo city, of criminal charges of child trafficking for sexual exploitation brought by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against a father and his 33 year-old son, Filipinos with US citizenship, has provoked outrage and anger among defenders of children's rights. Read more...
PHOTO: Children, some as young as 5 years old, are being sold as slaves for sex. It's a shameful secret that's now capturing the attention of the world
The
Philippines and the International Criminal Court - Fr Shay
Cullen | June 02, 2010
The landslide victory of the new president-elect Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was elected on a wave of hope and nostalgia that began with an emotional tsunami during the long 8-hour funeral procession of his mother, Corazon “Cory” Aquino last August 2009. Read more...
PHOTO: Clarita Alia speaks out against death squad killings at a rally in Davao City. From July 2001 to April 2007, her four sons--Richard, 18, Christopher, 17, Bobby, 14, and Fernando, 15--fell victim to apparent death squad killings. The police have not arrested a single suspect in any of the killings. © Ryan Anson
Compassion
for Children - Fr Shay Cullen | May 26, 2010
It was a dark, overcrowded prison cell packed with the sweating, heaving tattooed bodies of the most wicked-looking criminals you could imagine. I could not see Hakim, the young kid I had come to rescue from this harsh place of human misery and degradation if ever there was one. Read more...
PHOTO: Because of the lack of facilities, children share crowded quarters with adults, such as in this city jail in Metro Manila.
The
Travels of Sheila O’Hara Part 3 - Fr Shay Cullen | May 19, 2010
Before Sheila left Metro Manila to continue on her travels throughout the Philippines, she crossed the city festooned with election posters, banners and great advertisement boards from which beaming politicians promised justice, equality and prosperity and an end to corruption and many other impossible dreams. Read more...
PHOTO: Squatters often live in areas with no legal electricity service and must use found materials (wood, boxes, corrugated tin) to build housing in areas deemed “uninhabitable.”
The
Challenges Facing a New President - Fr Shay Cullen | May 12, 2010
The expected victory of leading candidate Benigno Simeon Cojuangco “Noynoy” Aquino III has raised the hopes and expectations of the people of the Philippines. Read more...
PHOTO: With victory all but in the bag, the new President of the Philippines, Senator Benigno Aquino, is now turning his attention to an even bigger challenge .. delivering on his campaign promises.
The
President That Can Bring Change - Fr Shay Cullen | May 05, 2010
The hope and dream of every Filipino is to see a transformation in the land and its people. They never cease to hope for the Filipino Messiah, a true, honest, charismatic President that will have nation-wide support of the indigenous people, the small farmers and the millions of marginalized Filipinos. Read more...
PHOTO: Bolivian President Evo Morales has followed the lead of Venezuela and cut diplomatic relations with the Zionist State
The
Power that Rules the Nation - Fr Shay Cullen | April
28, 2010
One of the biggest challenges facing any new president and administration will be how to deal with the political culture of crime where guns and goons and oodles of ill-gotten money buys or buries opponents and bedazzles the electorate with false claims, promises and empty meaningless rhetoric. Read more...
PHOTO: Supporters light candles in front of a portrait of the late former Philippine President Corazon Aquino in Manila, whose "People Power" revolution toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy to the nation.
Gawad
Kalinga, Hope for the Philippines - Fr Shay Cullen | April
21, 2010
Last week I had a meeting with a remarkable man, Tony Meloto, the founder of the catholic social action movement Gawad Kalinga (Caring for Others) that is utilizing all of its resources to mobilize the church, politicians, community leaders and every willing Filipino to do good to help their neighbor and bring an end to the crippling and disastrous poverty in the Philippines. His goal is to achieve this by 2024. Read more...
PHOTO: Gawad Kalinga is building a nation empowered by people with faith and patriotism; a nation made up of caring and sharing communities, dedicated to eradicate poverty and restore human dignity.
The
Earth, Where the Brave Are Buried - Fr Shay Cullen | April
14, 2010
It was his idealism, his commitment to saving the earth and his love of nature that brought Gensun Agustin, 30, of Buguey, Cagayan, Northern Luzon, the Philippines, to an early and unnatural death at 4 PM last 1 March 2010. Read more...
PHOTO: A LEADER of an antimining group in Cagayan, he was gunned down on his way home by two men in Buguey town.
Helping
a Victim of Child Abuse - Fr Shay Cullen | April 07, 2010
Last week, a mother came to the Preda shelter asking help and protection for her two little girls, one 8 and the other 4, both sexually-abused by their own father. Read more...
PHOTO: A number of treatments are available to victims of child abuse. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, first developed to treat sexually abused children, is now used for victims of any kind of trauma.
The
Resurrection of Oscar Romero - Fr Shay
Cullen | March 31, 2010
“If they kill me, I will rise again and live among the people of El Salvador”. These were the brave and prophetic words of Oscar Romero, a man who realized a profound truth and experienced a spiritual resurrection in his life after suffering a great hurt, a deep loss. Read more...
PHOTO: As the Archbishop of San Salvador during El Salvador's brutal civil war, Romero became the "bishop of the poor" for his work defending the Salvadoran people.
The
Pope's Pastoral letter on child sexual abuse by priests - Fr Shay
Cullen | March 24, 2010
Pope Benedict, in a Pastoral Letter to the Irish church last 21 March, expressing deep compassion for victims of clerical sexual abuse of children said that he was 'truly sorry', and, expressing shame and remorse, gave a sincere apology to the victims. Read more...
PHOTO: Pope Benedict XVI has signed a letter to address child sex abuse in the Catholic church in Ireland. However, the document comes months after the initial cases were reported.
Change
the System, Free the Children - Fr Shay
Cullen | March 17, 2010
Hundreds of Filipino children and youth suffer incredible harm and abuse in jails and in government youth detention centers. Many are sexually abused by adult prisoners. Minors held in these terrible places are abused, go hungry and are traumatized. Read more...
PHOTO: According to Amnesty International, over 50,000 children in the Philippines have been arrested and detained since 1995. Torture, rape and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment are a part of every day life for those children while they're incarcerated.
Clerical
Abuse of Children must be Stopped - Fr Shay
Cullen | March 10, 2010
Berlin, Germany - The gathering in Berlin this week is for child protection experts and defenders of abused and sexually-exploited children. I am here to represent the dedicated Filipinos and all others who have worked to protect children and bring their abusers to justice. Read more...
PHOTO: Victims of clergy sex abuse and a group that tracks pedophile priests called on local Roman Catholic leaders and the Irish government to publicly detail known connections between the clergy abuse scandals in the U.S. and Ireland.
Dried
Mangoes Could Prevent Cancer - New Medical Discoveries - Fr Shay
Cullen | March 03, 2010
It’s great to get good news about the wonders and benefits of nature for once after all the natural disasters experienced in the past few months around the world. Read more...
PHOTO: Mangoes, despite its low level of antioxidant activity, have been found to prevent or stop certain colon, breast, leukemia, and prostate cancer cells.
People
Power and Christian Faith - Fr Shay Cullen | February
25, 2010
The Philippine People Power revolution celebrated its 24th anniversary last week. My first experience of People Power happened many years ago in a village before People Power became a non-violent mass mobilization of people that overthrew a dictatorship. Read more...
PHOTO: The People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution and the Philippine Revolution of 1986) was a series of nonviolent and prayerful mass street demonstrations in the Philippines that occurred in 1986
The
Politics of Man-made Poverty - Fr Shay Cullen | February
17, 2010
When Perla Santos, a Filipina professional working in Barcelona heard that the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) had overturned the 2007 election of Ed Panlilio, former Catholic priest and governor of Pampanga province together with two other opposition governors, she snorted in disgust, "What!, they were the few uncorrupted leaders and now they are thrown out?!". Read more...
PHOTO: Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio, who is also a priest on leave, declared his intention to drop out of the 2010 Presidential race at a press conference in Club Filipino, Greenhills.
The
Internet for Good and Evil - Fr Shay Cullen | February
10, 2010
Barcelona, Spain - The phone call came from a journalist in Madrid who read I was in Barcelona giving a series of lectures on child protection and the internet and the new Philippine Anti-Child Pornography Law... Read more...
PHOTO: The onset of computers on the general population has given a boost to the Economy in the world's market. People who weren't much aware of the world became drawn to computers, which in turn brought about the Internet, connecting the world all over.
No
Easy Way to Save the Children - Fr Shay Cullen | February
03, 2010
It is no easy task to rescue the child victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in the Philippines. The authorities deny it even it exists. “The problem has been solved”, they say, “it does not exist now”. Read more...
PHOTO: The Philippines is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Pass
the Law on Organic Farming! - Fr Shay Cullen | January 27, 2010
I am a dedicated advocate of organic food production and chemical free foods. With the Preda Fair Trade team, I am campaigning for the passage of a new Philippine Law that will promote modern progressive organic farming in this country. Read more...
PHOTO: The growing market demands both domestic and export for organically grown fruits and vegetables compel us to learn to grow ORGANIC products.
Defending
Ancestral Domain - Fr Shay Cullen | January 20, 2010
It was a happy day and a happier event for hundreds of the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines. They were gathered in the covered basketball court of Botolan, Zambales, to be recognized as the rightful inhabitants and owners of 15,000 square kilometers of ancestral domain. Read more...
PHOTO: Aeta Groups with Fr. Shay Cullen and the Preda Staff , happy after receiving their ancestral land title recognizing their rights to more than 15,000 hectare of land in Botolan.
Angel-Grace,
Her Story Continued - Fr Shay Cullen | January 13, 2010
Last week, I told the story of Angel-Grace, a child first sexually abused several times by her step-father and lived for years in fear and terror, unable to tell anyone. Her own mother did not believe her and called her a liar Read more...
PHOTO: Launched in 2009 by Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF), the YouthEngage campaign is an annual programme for action for young people around the world who pledge to prevent abuse and violence against children and adolescents.
The
Silence of the Victims - Fr Shay Cullen | January 06, 2010
This is the story of a Filipino child, Angel-grace, one of many, representative of millions around the world. I will be frank in telling her story. My readers will want to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Read more...
PHOTO: In many Third World Countries, violence against children and women continues to be a pressing problem. Such violence is often manifested in the form of physical and sexual abuse.
My New Year
Resolutions 2010 - Fr Shay Cullen |
December 29, 2009
New Year resolutions were a regular part of my childhood. We were encouraged by our parents to make a new bright start and promised to study harder, pray more, eat our vegetables, and do our chores cheerfully. It was a good training. Read more...
PHOTO: Fr. Shay giving the important message of Christmas - to follow the lead of Christ in serving the poor and the children.
A
Life Well Lived - In the New Year - Fr Shay Cullen |
December 22, 2009
Just before Christmas, I received a text message, the best gift one could imagine from Mina and Sheila, Preda Foundation jail rescue workers – “Two more children released from jail, bringing them home”. A few days later, another Christmas gift – “good news, cases against Jonathan and Darryl dismissed! Hurray! - Joan”. Read more...
PHOTO: Fr Shay Cullen with the children rescued by the Preda team.
The
Joys of Christmas - Fr Shay Cullen |
December 16, 2009
When I was growing up in Ireland, everyone in our family gave each other little gifts at Christmas. We saved up our pocket money and went shopping thinking of what we could afford and what gift would please our parents and our brothers and sisters. Read more...
PHOTO: The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
The
Truth is in the Floods - Fr Shay Cullen |
December 09, 2009
The truth about climate change is essential to the Copenhagen Conference and its aftermath. The nations of the world have not reached a comprehensive breakthrough agreement but the world desperately needs one to greatly reduce the outpouring of greenhouse gasses. Read more...
PHOTO: Villagers wade through floods in Bihar, India. Should we accept the effects of climate change and teach children to swim instead? Photograph: AP/Aftab Alam Siddiqui
The
Ruling Elites and Christmas - Fr Shay Cullen |
December 03, 2009
The Christmas and political season have opened in the Philippines and it is not a very happy one. The hoped for and promised freedom from poverty, fear, oppression and violent death that the birth of Jesus of Nazareth brought to us 2000 years ago is still beyond the reach of most Filipinos. Read more...
PHOTO: Medical staff members cover the bodies of massacre victims in Ampatuan town of southern Philippines, Nov. 25, 2009. At least 57 people were killed in the stunning massacre of journalists, civilians and relatives of politicians in the volatile southern Philippines as more bodies were unearthed from a mass grave, military and police officials said.(Xinhua/Jes Aznar)
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