The Paris Olympics 2024 gave the world peace for only 15 days. Why can’t we have peace forever, to compete with each other, and no matter how hotly the games are played, win or lose, to shake hands after and embrace, with exuberance and enthusiasm?

Cardinal Tagle, like his Father, wants to share with us “a love story” he had with Jesus, for like his Father, he, too is a leader in the spread of God’s love and the teachings of His Church.

And regarding the role of his congregation in the evangelization of peoples, the following are what he said thereon:

“We cannot keep to ourselves the encounter with God who has touched our hearts and who has done marvelous works.”

“Like his early followers, let us share the love that we have experienced. What we have received from God is a gift to others. And the more we share it, the more our faith grows.”

“If we keep it to ourselves, our faith weakens over time. If we keep it in a small group, it becomes the business of an elite.”

“Missionaries are inspired by the love of God to come out of themselves, of their fears, to reach all nations, geographical and existential. For a fundamental reason: gratitude. They are grateful people,” declared Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

Thank God, we are still alive to witness the Paris Olympics 2024, even for only 15 days, of peace. The spectacular performance of our athletes elevated our standing in medal counts from the 50th in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to 37th among the 84 medal-winning countries out of 204 that participated in the Paris Olympics.

The children of our former leaders in defense and security agencies participate in negotiating with their counterparts in other countries.

The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between Japan and the Philippines which allows the transfer of defense personnel between the two counties for training and disaster relief operations drew positive reactions among the leaders of the country and the Filipino people.

The Filipino people are of the opinion that deals with Japanese companies are clean without any irregularity. The Japanese are known for their honesty in their dealings with the Philippine government.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said he “fully supports” the newly inked defense pact, stressing that it could help stop a “possible conflagration.”

“Anything that strengthens and increases our military’s capability is a deterrence to a possible conflagration. I fully support this agreement/arrangements,” Escudero said in a text message.

Senator Imee Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, also welcomed the signing of the RAA with Japan.

In a separate statement, Marcos vowed to “scrutinize every line and every word” of the defense agreement once it is referred to her committee.

“We welcome having stronger security ties with our neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region. However, as with other foreign treaties, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relation will scrutinize every line and every word of that treaty once the same is referred to us to make sure that it is aligned with the national interest of the country’s she said.

Meanwhile, the Philippines and Germany have committed to finalize a broader defense cooperation before the end of 2024. In a courtesy call on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Malacañang last 5 August, German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said he had a splendid meeting with his counterpart, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. The two top defense officials met on 4 August and committed to revitalizing Philippines-Germany defense relations.

“We decided, both us, to have a security or a defense agreement between our two countries and we want to sign it by the end of the year,” Pistorius told the President.

(To be continued)