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Meet the lawyers who dropped everything to work for free rescuing airport detaineesImmigration lawyers make signs to identify themselves to stranded families at JFK.Source: Jack Smith IV/Mic

Lawyers gather Sunday at Washington Dulles International Airport to discuss how to gain access to a detainee held under a travel ban imposed by President Trump’s executive order. (Reuters) Washington Post

faith in humanity, restored.


Lawyers offer free counseling as they join dozens of pro-immigration demonstrators cheering and holding signs as passengers arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport on Sunday. (Mike Theiler/Reuters) Washington Post

“When we condemn violence, we cannot ourselves be its perpetrators, and when we decry murder, we cannot ourselves participate in murder, no matter that it may be accompanied by the trappings of judicial and legal process,” he said.

Congress has scheduled the plenary debates on House Bill No. 4727, a consolidated version of seven bills on death penalty, this coming week.

The Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop added: “Throughout the world, the trend against the death penalty is unmistakable, and international covenants, one of which the Philippines is party to, obligate us not to impose the death penalty.”

The death penalty, which was abolished during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with the strong influence of the Catholic church, is being revived by the Duterte administration to deter heinous crimes amid a deadly war on drugs which has claimed thousands of lives. IDL/rga

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

CBCP on death penalty: ‘No person is beyond redemption’

By: Yuji Vincent Gonzales
January 31, 2017


Archbishop Socrates Villegas. NIÃ'O JESUS ORBETA/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has reiterated its opposition to capital punishment amid efforts to revive it in the 17th Congress.

In an official statement, CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas on Monday urged the Duterte administration to “champion life for all,” saying Catholic bishops “regret that there are strident efforts to restore death penalty” in the Philippine legal system.

“The Gospel of the Lord Jesus is the Gospel of Life. It is this Gospel we must preach. It is this Gospel that we must uphold… Though the crime be heinous, no person is ever beyond redemption, and we have no right ever giving up on any person,” Villegas wrote.

“The process of amending the Constitution should not be left to politicians or to those who either by election or appointment will be tasked to draft the amendments… The Constitution is the single most important document of our country. The Filipinos are the author of this document,” they said.

Those who are tasked to draft or amend it, the bishops stressed, are not the authors but the instruments of the Filipinos, and that it only becomes valid upon the people’s approval.

“We must be vigilant and watch over, and even suggest ideas and formulations that enter into the Constitution. We have to make sure that the resulting document embodies ‘our rights, our ideals, our aspirations, and our dreams,’” the letter stressed. JE

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

The CBCP urged the faithful to safeguard Constitutional provisions on the sanctity of the family as a basic autonomous social institution.

The bishops pointed out that they supported the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, while acknowledging its imperfections.

The CBCP added that the drafting of a Constitution and its amendments concerns all Filipinos, and that such amendments should be consistent with the Gospel and promote the common good.

“Let us ensure that provisions of our Bill of Rights are preserved, especially, ‘No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws,’” it said.

“Likewise very important is the prohibition of the death penalty, which we advocate to be made absolute,” the letter added.

The Church also asserted its pro-life stance as it called for the protection of the provision in which “the state shall equally protect the life of the mother and the unborn from conception.”

The bishops urged the public to be vigilant in ensuring that the provisions in the 1987 Constitution on respecting human rights and the sanctity of the family as a basic social institution, are upheld.

“We urge you to get involved in the process of amending the Constitution so that all its provisions will be consistent with the Gospel, and the gains of the 1987 Constitution will be preserved and enhanced, instead of being removed,” it said.

The bishops also emphasized provisions in the 1987 Constitution guaranteeing full respect for human rights, particularly the Bill of Rights.

In its pastoral letter, the CBCP said it was not endorsing or disapproving moves to amend the 1987 Constitution as being pushed by Duterte, but to offer pastoral guidance to its flock.

The CBCP stressed the need to assert that “sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them,” adding that “public office is a public trust.”

“Let us not allow any public official to act as if he is the master of the people, for a person is elected or appointed to public office to be a servant of the people,” the pastoral letter pointed out.

“Do we need to change from our present unitary system to a federal system of government? Or will it suffice to introduce amendments and laws which will make the present unitary system responsive to the needs of disadvantaged regions?” he asked.

The CBCP, through Villegas, issued the pastoral letter after its three-day plenary assembly over the weekend.

The Filipino bishops discussed issues such as moves to reimpose the death penalty for heinous crimes, the government’s war on illegal drugs and the spate of extra-judicial killings, federalism, and the proliferation of trolls and fake news on social media.

The bishops likewise highlighted the need to study the issue of federalism, which President Duterte has been actively pushing for.

Federalism, as well as the country’s sovereignty, respect for human rights, the death penalty, and the sanctity of the family were among the issues raised in the three-page pastoral letter.

CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Socrates Villegas noted that the clamor for federalism “stems from the dissatisfaction of many people with the lack of equitable distribution of benefits, power and financial resources in our present unitary system.”

CBCP to public: Get involved in process of amending Constitution

Bishops: Drafting of Constitution concerns all Filipinos; amendments should be consistent with Gospel

By: Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 31, 2017

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has urged its flock to take part in amending the 1987 Constitution to ensure that democracy, human rights and the sanctity of the family are upheld.

In a pastoral letter issued on Tuesday, the country’s bishops also maintained their firm opposition to attempts to impose a “dictatorial martial rule” in the country.

“Let us continue to maintain the safeguards against dictatorial martial rule that our present constitution contains,” the CBCP said in its three-page pastoral letter, “Amending the Constitution.”

Essentially, he seemed to equate his leadership with his personality rather than with the institution badly in need of reforms. The most telling indication was when he cried at a Senate hearing on the killing of Espinosa saying he no longer knew whom to trust.

In the Korean’s murder, De la Rosa wasn’t on top of the situation, either. He ordered a manhunt for Sta. Isabel who, all the while, was in Camp Crame.

All this has pushed our country down in an international ranking on the rule of law, as cited by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. The Philippines descended to 70 from 51 for 2016.

The brittle crust of duty and discipline in the PNP has now broken, the leadership collapsing under a wave of impunity that has engulfed the police force.

And the public deserves more than a pledge of "cleansing" in its ranks. â€" Rappler.com

De la Rosa’s leadership has inordinately focused on his visibility and self-promotion rather than keeping a tight rein on the police force.

Remember Espinosa

The case of Ick Joo is not the first. The killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa in his detention cell November last year opened the floodgates as the President himself protected the cops involved in the rubout.

For his part, De la Rosa set his sights on making a name for himself, an easy task considering his voluble personality that endears him to the public. This, accompanied by his life-size cutout photographs standing in various public places announcing police assistance as well as mascots and masks.

This state of affairs is unacceptable â€" and Dela Rosa's order to stop the PNP's anti-illegal drug activities is not sufficient to address past wrongdoing.



Lest we forget, two things have led to the breakdown in the PNP â€" on top of its inherent organizational weaknesses:

President Duterte has unleashed a culture of impunity in his centerpiece war-on-drugs program.

In a late-night press conference on Sunday, before any conclusive findings from any agency, the President tagged Dumlao as the mastermind and ordered the dismantling of the PNP's Anti-Illegal Drugs Group.

But he absolved the man who should have disciplined these cops in the first place: PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa. What good will it do to let go of the PNP chief, he asked. "If there are still scalawags and criminals inside Crame, they will continue with or without Bato."

Whoever committed the crime, the inescapable fact is that the men of the PNP are at the center of this wrongdoing. Dela Rosa himself admitted, "Crime is happening within our ranks."

Essentially, President Rodrigo Duterte, who has tapped the PNP as the lead agency in his war on drugs, belatedly realized that the police force â€" a corrupt, abusive one, he said â€" was not up to the task.

Jee Ick Joo was kidnapped by policemen â€" in the guise of conducting a legitimate operation in the name of the war on drugs â€" and strangled to death in Camp Crame. The police also demanded P5-million ransom from the wife of the victim.

Two versions of the murder are competing for the public’s attention, both involving policemen who used to be assigned to the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group: SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel and his superior, Superintendent Rafael Dumlao.

Leadership breakdown in PNP


It takes the death of a South Korean businessman â€" an embarrassment, says President Duterte â€" for the PNP to realize it's gone too far in its war on drugs

Rappler.com
January 30, 2017

The murder of South Korean business executive Jee Ick Joo in October last year right in the seat of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is, so far, the most brazen atrocity committed by the police under the Duterte administration.

It is this death, not the killing of over 7,000 Filipinos in the government's 6-month war on drugs, that trigerred a key presidential decision Sunday night, January 29: the abolition of all PNP anti-illegal drug units and a stop to anti-illegal drug operations in the police force.

On the other hand, martial law powers can only be exercised by an elected president who has taken a sacred oath to protect and defend the constitution â€" a constitution precisely to remind him of the fundamental limitations of his delegated powers. For instance, in the absence of rebellion or invasion, when public safety requires, President Duterte cannot impose martial law on his own belief that the nation is in dire peril. He has no authority even as the highest officer of the land to do so. President Duterte's 16,000,000, more or less, votes in the May 2016 election can never justify unconstitutional choices and orders. It does not give the President the license to evade and disregard the rule of law. And the fact that he is a minority President makes it imperative that he and his subalterns strictly observe the Constitution.

In sum, any advocacy that martial law is justified by reasons not textually allowed by our fundamental law is nothing but crap. Though used in a different context, the words of Sam Stein, senior political editor of the Huffington Post, are appropriate: "Sometimes it helps just to call b*** when you see it."

interaksyon.com/

And to say that extra-constitutional means can be undertaken because it was already done in the 1986 ouster of the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos is to disregard or be ignorant of the distinctively historical truth that the people, as a sovereign, directly intervened in that 1986 expulsion. It happened because the so-called leaders of the country were, in fact, criminals and most institutions were perverted to blindly be subservient to their felonious design â€" anchored no less on an autocratic martial-law 1973 Constitution. And when the 1987 Freedom Constitution was ratified by the majority of our people, those historical bases were strongly affirmed. Moreover, the post-ratification events were and are still their validation. Billions of dollars of ill-gotten and stolen wealth were later recovered and are still being recovered. Even Congress passed legislation making it public policy to recognize the gross human rights violations inflicted by the Marcos martial law regime on many of our people.

These are plainly undisputable.

That rule of law, which is the citizens' protection, and all other fundamental rights, will be imperiled by the baseless imposition and misuse of martial law. The right against self-incrimination, the prohibition against torture, the regard for due process to protect a person's life, liberty and property, the freedom of speech and the press, the right of association, the sanctity of private contracts, the recourse to the writ of habeas corpus, the supremacy of civilian over military rule, the observance of equality before the law, the fiscal nature of the separation of governmental powers, among others, can easily be ignored and/or violated by the "powers that be". On the other hand, extrajudicial killings will continue, forced disappearance and extortion encouraged, and abuse of authority fomented, all of them with impunity. Worse, sovereignty residing in the people is eventually and effectively usurped by the will, beliefs, say-so of one person and implemented by that person's subalterns, resulting in despotic rule.

A very dangerous notion on Martial Law

By: Atty. Mel Sta.Maria
January 21, 2017


President Rodrigo Duterte. Photographed by KJ Rosales.

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

Atty. Mel Sta.Maria is the Dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law and Professor at the Ateneo de Manila School of Law.

That President Rodrigo Duterte can declare martial law even outside the textual parameters set by the 1987 Freedom Constitution is a seriously wrong understanding of our Constitution which, if pursued and implemented, will inevitably lead to the destruction of our democratic way of life.

Only when there is invasion and rebellion â€" when public safety so requires â€" can the President impose martial law. No other "very extreme cases" â€" such as the gravity of the drug problem or a possible attempt on the life of government officials â€" can justify its imposition. After the presidential declaration, Congress can rescind it. And even if Congress agrees with the President, the Supreme Court can nullify their decisions upon a taxpayer's meritorious petition. That is the constitutional command. It is the rule of law â€" not simply a "textbook definition."

In any case, one thing is sure, the Catholic Church is here to stay -- and it will likely remain here far longer than  President Duterte  would want it to -- and surely  also far longer than his term.

God bless you Mr. President. And even as you throw mud at the Catholic Church’s hierarchy, I am  sure Cardinal Chito Tagle  is praying for your success  as President -- to be achieved  in the right way of course.

interaksyon.com/

This is also the reason, I believe, why communism, even if it espouses egalitarian ideals, will not ultimately win the Filipino hearts and minds. Communism, at its core, does not have belief in God -- a belief which, whether one likes it or not, is part of the worldview of the great majority of Filipinos.

Thus, even if he uses the vast influence of his office to alienate all of the faithful against the Catholic Church, President Duterte will surely fail.

His joke on starting an “Iglesia ni Duterte” may be a better alternative. With him as its pope, some people may be mesmerized again by the hue, shape, color, form and rhetoric of his religious advocacy. They might just join his church. I wonder who these people might be? Who will be his apostles? His cabinet members?

The Catholic faith has become more than a religion to millions of Filipinos. It is a way of life. The fiestas we celebrate,  the Christmas season we anticipate, the noche buena and   the caroling we prepare, the remembrance of our dead every  first of November, all these and more are rooted in  the faith  despised by Duterte.  Even most of our surnames, though decreed by our former colonizers, reflect the religion --De Jesus, Cruz, Santos, De Los Angeles, Sta. Ana, San Jose, San Pedro, Calbario, and many more.

Even our forgiving attitude, the sense of sacrifice and hope, is rooted in Catholic doctrine. From birth to death, the Catholic faith has some role in our existence and they are not intrinsically bad at all.

Even if not each and every individual Filipino is a Catholic, or a practicing one, it cannot be denied that Catholicism (and the Catholic Church) has contributed to the formation, and is thus a substantial part of, our unique culture -- similar to how, say, Confucianism has become an integral part of the cultures of China, Korea, and Japan.

The Catholic Church is still a glorious and transcendent faith which seeks to lead us to a reality beyond this sinful world. It is a hopeful and relevant religion. A number of insider-misfits will not change that.  Many will still remain or try to be as Catholic as they possibly can.

Parents will still enroll their children in Catholic universities such as the University of Sto. Tomas, Xavier University, St. Scholastica’s College,   St. Paul’s College, St. Theresa’s College, Aquinas School,  Don Bosco, Lourdes School, De La Salle University, Ateneo  and many more. 

Many Catholics  will still go to their  churches, receive  the sacrament of reconciliation, attend Mass, listen to homilies (whether boring or exciting), and, despite President Duterte once  irreverently saying “Body of Christ sa inyong igit” (in your s***), still people will  receive Holy Communion believing in  Jesus Christ transubstantiated.   

Duterte’s useless fight against the Catholic Church

By: Mel Sta. Maria
January 27, 2017

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5



President Duterte again unleashed his vitriol against the Catholic Church. He said: “I challenge you now. I challenge the Catholic Church. You are full of s***. You smell bad, corruption and all.” 

I do not doubt that in the hierarchy of the church, down to the priests, there are some bad eggs causing great embarrassment and scandal to it. And if, by Catholic Church, we mean all of us who belong to that faith, surely there are many sinners. And probably, more than a majority of the faithful are sinners.

But I totally disagree with President Duterte.

bitaw bai hubs. gimaw na. belated merry christmas gift to me bi...

http://boredomtherapy.com/

Catios (patios for cats)

Cat owners know it’s not always easy to keep your pets inside when they want to be outside, and vice versa. It always seems like, no matter what, they’re going to be where they want to be regardless of whether it’s convenient for us humans.

Fortunately, there’s a brilliant invention that brings the best of indoors and outdoors together, and it might just be the perfect compromise for pet owners and their feline companions.

Ophthalmologists argue that cheap sunglasses do nothing to protect your eyes from ultraviolet rays.

When you look at a bright light, you’ll instinctively narrow your eyes in order to protect them from harm. If you’re wearing sunglasses, your eyes remain as wide as when they’re not looking at the light, allowing it to penetrate them to a greater degree. Cheap sunglasses don’t have an effective protective layer. So they not only fail to protect your eyes from harm but actually subject them to greater risk than if you weren’t wearing them.

https://brightside.me/

Carrying a rucksack in the wrong way can lead to chronic back problems from a young age.

The ideal position for your rucksack is five centimeters higher than your waist, and all the straps should be done up correctly. For children, it’s recommended that they carry only what is absolutely necessary in order not to overload their spines with excess weight.

Research carried out in Japan has shown that using an alarm clock not only upsets our biological rhythms but can also cause harm to the heart. A person’s blood pressure rises when they’re woken up by an alarm, placing them into a "battle ready" state for a moment â€" this is never good for the body.

If you really don’t have the time to wake up naturally, and going to bed earlier isn’t possible, then for the sake of your health it’s worth finding an alarm that wakes you up gradually rather than suddenly.

Many people think that the more we sleep, the more our body is able to rest. But, in fact, oversleeping can be just as harmful as undersleeping. One professor from the Center for Sleep Research believes that more than eight hours of sleep can lead to failures in the work of the brain, as a result of which an individual can feel sluggish and will think more slowly.

An adult should sleep for around eight hours â€" it’s in this amount of time that the body can successfully restore itself. If you find yourself wanting to sleep more than this on a regular basis, it’s worth carrying out a medical examination. Sleepiness can be one of the signs of a chronic disease.

Experts at Harvard University believe that, in contrast to other methods of reheating food, the microwave helps to better preserve the nutritional elements in a meal. It heats up food quickly, meaning that vitamin C and other useful elements don’t have time to be dissolved.

When using a microwave, it’s best to cover the food with a lid and add some water. This will help it to heat up faster without burning.

In addition, for those who are trying to stick to a balanced diet, losing a few nutritional elements through reheating in a microwave won’t have any significant effect on the amount of vitamins and minerals their bodies will get from the meal.

Our immune systems need "training." When foreign bacteria enter our system, antibodies begin to develop to help destroy the infection. If a person lives in sanitary conditions, these antibodies have nothing to fight against. At the same time, the chemicals used to create an ultra-clean environment can harm the body. Some air fresheners, for example, can lead to chronic bronchitis.

Don’t try to turn your home into a completely sterile zone, especially if you have kids. Children that grow up in a completely clean environment are more likely to end up with allergies. Try to keep the use of chemical-based cleaning products to a minimum, especially the kind of aggressive substances that can only be handled with rubber gloves.

It might seem like there’s nothing sweeter than a quick nap after a nourishing meal. However, such a habit can have negative consequences, especially if you aim to watch your figure. When a person goes to sleep, their body begins to place calories "in reserve" instead of burning them. In this way, sleep after a heavy meal can lead to additional weight gain.

If you really want to take a nap after a meal, first go for a 20-minute walk in order to burn off some of those calories.

Quite often we hear the advice that you should brush your teeth after every meal. But you actually shouldn’t brush your teeth this often under any circumstances. This is especially true if you’ve very recently eaten something sweet or acidic. The enamel of your teeth, softened by the acids, will now be more vulnerable to harm from the abrasive components of the toothpaste.

After eating, it’s best to simply rinse your mouth out with mouthwash or water. If you want to clean your teeth with toothpaste, wait at least half an hour.

It’s not a bad thing if you can avoid being in the same building as someone who is ill. But holding your breath every time the person sitting at the next desk sneezes or coughs is useless. When they sneeze, germs fly out of a person’s air passages at a speed of five meters per second, and the number of these molecules is so great that there’s enough for every member of the population.

The vast majority of us wash on a very regular basis. This supposedly beneficial habit can have negative consequences for our bodies, however. Hot water combined with shower gel can deprive the skin of a protective layer leading to dryness, peeling, and the appearance of cracks. This can, in turn, lead to the appearance of infections.

If you’re one of those people who likes to wash every day, give preference to cold water, and don’t always use cleaning products. They’re essential only in those areas where you sweat.

A healthy diet containing fruit and juice can give the body all the vitamins it needs. In the case of illness or pregnancy, only a doctor can determine exactly which vitamins or other elements the body needs.

Specialists from the University of Pittsburgh carried out research that proved that a person needs to sleep in a regular pattern in order to stay healthy. Breaking the natural rhythm of waking and sleeping can lead to diseases of the heart and to type 2 diabetes.

The researchers also measured the body mass index and waistline of people who don’t sleep in a regular pattern. They found that both indicators exceeded the norm for such people.

12 Bad Habits We Mistake for Good Ones

We all know that alcohol and tobacco can cause us harm and that sport and a healthy diet are good for us. But there are additional day-to-day habits that we also automatically think of as healthy without ever thinking that it might not be the case.

We at Bright Side decided to find out where our ideas of what constitutes a healthy habit turn out to be mistaken.

Still, Heinrich said Qatar’s government has in the past shown itself “willing and keen” to fight corruption, and that Transparency would appeal to them for more fundamental reforms to ensure better freedom of speech and more media freedom, among other things.

“You can’t fight corruption without having accountability and transparency in the entire public process,” he said.

Afghanistan, a perennial fixture near the bottom of the list, improved the most in 2016. Its score on the Transparency International index rose four points, but still was ranked 169th, just ahead of Libya, Sudan and Yemen.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Nearly 70 percent of the 176 countries scored below 50 on the 100-point scale, with a zero meaning a country is perceived to be highly corrupt and 100 indicating it’s perceived to be very clean.

“This year, more countries declined in the index than improved, showing the need for urgent action,” the report said.

The country that dropped most sharply in the rankings was Qatar, which has faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses involving migrant construction workers since it was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup of soccer. It dropped 10 points, falling to 31st on the list from 22nd last year.

Transparency International research director Finn Heinrich told The Associated Press that the organization was taking a wait-and-see approach to Donald Trump’s presidency, but that already it had “serious concerns.”

“Donald Trump came on board as the people in Hungary and Turkey, on an anti-corruption ticket. He said, ‘We’re going to drain this swamp,'” Heinrich said. “But if you look at his action so far, there is nepotism…. The people in his Cabinet have many conflicts of interest. They are not people who stand for transparency.”

The index scores countries on a range of factors, such as whether government officials are held to account or go unpunished for corruption; the perceived prevalence of bribery; and whether public institutions respond to citizens’ needs.

The group’s board chairman, Jose Ugaz, cited Hungary and Turkey as examples. Their scores have worsened in recent years under leaders with authoritarian leanings, while Argentina, which ousted a populist government, has improved in the rankings, he said.

Based on expert opinions of public sector corruption, the annual report rated Denmark and New Zealand as the least-corrupt countries, followed by Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway. Somalia was ranked most corrupt, followed by South Sudan, North Korea, and Syria.

Rounding out the Top 10 least corrupt were Singapore, the Netherlands, Canada, and the tie-placing trio of Germany, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom in the No. 10 spot. The United States placed 18th, down from 16th in 2015.

Watchdog group: Corruption worsens under populist leaders

Associated Press
January 25, 2017


In this Thursday, May 12, 2016 file photo, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, from left, Jose Ugaz, Transparency International, Daria Kaleniuk and Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg take part in a panel discussion at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London. Watchdog group Transparency International on Wednesday Jan. 25, 2017, is warning that people who turn to populist politicians who promise to change systems and end corruption may only be feeding the problem. AP FILE PHOTO

BERLIN â€" People who turn to populist politicians promising to upset the status quo and end corruption may only be feeding the problem, an anti-corruption watchdog group warned Wednesday.

Transparency International said in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2016 that in countries with populist or autocratic leaders, “instead of tackling crony capitalism, those leaders usually install even worse forms of corrupt systems.”

sad.

no question about where salvation lies. pero, kay angay man ta morespeto sa atong isigkaingon, unsa pa kaha kun ang hisgotan ang nagsabak na kang hesu kristo o ang mga santos nga andam motabang nato. in that context, we worship them as we worship our parents and fellowmen; we know they are what they are because they're ready to help humanity. no one ever claimed that the virgin mother and the saints can replace our lord jesus christ.