Appointment of Filipina to Vatican Body: Key moment for Laity and Philippines Church

After the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life announced Mrs. Fe Barino's appointment as a member of the International Service of Communion of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service CHARIS, congratulatory messages and well wishes poured in for her.

Mrs. Fe Barino, president of the Commission on the Laity of the Archdiocese of Cebu, along with two other Asians, Cyril John of India and James Yu of Korea, oversee CHARIS International, the charismatic renewal organizations in the Asia-Oceania region.

For Father Jerome Antogop, head of the Mary’s Little Children Community MLCC based in Talisay City, Cebu, the appointment is “God’s welcome gift to the laity not only in Cebu but to the whole of the Philippine church.” 

Fr. Antogop said that as a dedicated lay leader, he expects Mrs. Barino to render the same committed service and become the voice of the charismatic renewal in Asia.

Monsignor Fred Krikenbeek, considered one of the pioneers of the charismatic renewal in Cebu, established the MLCC. Mrs. Barino considered the late MLCC founder to be one of her spiritual advisers.

Meanwhile, a prominent lay leader welcomed Fe Barino's appointment to the Vatican body, calling it “a great honor for the laity in Cebu and the Philippines.”

Former Cebu Regional Trial Court Judge Simeon Dumdum, who is active in the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP), also said that Mrs. Barino’s appointment will energize the charismatic renewal movement in the Philippines.

When news of her appointment to the CHARIS International Board of Directors came out, Mrs. Barino was preparing for another round of synodal consultations in the different districts of the Cebu Archdiocese. 

Together with Vicar General Monsignor Rogelio Fuentes and Sr. Maricor Talay, they are to visit the 8 districts under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese and bring to the grassroots the synodal way, that is,  speaking and listening to one another and the Holy Spirit, to find a way forward to address the issues that confront the Church in the modern world.

On March 17, 2024, midway through this district-level consultation, the Commission on the Laity and the Archdiocese of Cebu Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services will present a Lenten Recollection steeped in synod themes.

Titled “Forming a Synodal Heart,” it features Dr. Estella Padilla, a lay member of the Philippine Synod of Bishops, and Dr. Joy Candelario, a member of the national synod team. - Malou Guanzon-Apalisok