Australian nun Patricia Fox attends 'Courage!' book launch

The Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc. (JesCom) on Tuesday launched "Courage!", a book highlighting the importance of mustering courage to take action in the face of a destructive and political sphere.

"Courage!" is by Edmundo Garcia, a 1987 Constitutional framer and esteemed college professor.

Prior to its official launch at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) in Quezon City, a manuscript of "Courage!" was sent to notable characters who recently had a brush with President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration, including detained Senator Leila de Lima and Vice President Leni Robredo and Australian missionary nun Sister Patricia Fox who was present on Tuesday's launch.

Fox gave a commentary only three days before she was ordered to vacate the country for her participation in political demonstrations.

Australian missionary nun Sister Patricia Fox at the launch of Courage!

The 71-year-old nun said Filipinos "are people of hope,” adding that "even when the darkness is there, it will be overcome because we believe that Jesus is alive and that spirit is alive and active.”

University of the Philippines Vice President Geronimo H. Abad read out "From Rage to Courage", a poem inspired by the book, which touched on the struggle of faith and compassion at a time of a rampant drug war and China’s growing claim over Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea.

Also present were ADMU professor Benjamin Tolosa, Jr.; Quezon Representative Lorenzo "Erin" Reyes Tañada III; Far Eastern University (FEU) professor and Angel C. Palanca Peace Program Foundation, Inc. board trustee Marco Gutang; and Caloocan Archbishop Pablo “Ambo” David, who each gave a speech as well.

Aside from commending Garcia and blessing the publication about to hit the shelves, Archbishop David reiterated the ongoing call for justice in the killing of Father Mark Ventura, a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.

Edmundo Garcia signing copies of "Courage!"

"Courage!" itself includes a rejoinder for the tough-talking president where Garcia addressed not only Ventura’s killing but the “fake news” circulating in spite of his death. It also challenged several of Duterte's public pronouncements “vilifying" the Catholic church.

Garcia revealed he would have called his latest book 'The Courage to Hope,' until he realized that hope "inevitably follows" courage.

“Courage is a verb, I believe, and the noun is the Filipino,” he said. — LA, GMA News