VISION A worshipping, witnessing and serving Community of Disciples of Jesus Christ striving to become a Church of the Poor in dialogue

with life and faith of other cultures. A liberated and integral society which is God-centered , democratic , nationalistic , just , respectful of human life and the integrity of creation

MISSION

Integral Evangelization: To proclaim and witness to the Gospel of salvation and liberation through Massive Education in the Faith, Solid Organizing, Acculturated and Contextualized Worship and Transformative Social Apostolate.

The Vision of the Diocese of Marbel that, we hope for a liberated and integral society which is God-centered (maka-Dios), democratic (makatao), nationalistic (maka-bansa), just (makatarungan), respectful of human life (maka-buhay), and the integrity of creation (makakalikasan). This is the ideal Philippine country we together must create.

What we mean when we say God is God-centered is that he acts like that. He saves for the sake of his name. He saves to make known his own power. And what we mean when we say we are God-centered (or desire to be) is that we like to have it that way. It satisfies us to have God save us for Gods sake. We are happy that this is the way it is. We get pleasure in seeing it and savoring it. We like to talk about God doing it that way. Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a nation. There are two main perspectives on the origins and basis of nationalism, one is the primordialist perspective that describes nationalism as a reflection of the ancient and perceived evolutionary tendency of humans to organize into distinct grouping based on an affinity of birth; the other is the modernist perspective that describes nationalism as a recent phenomenon that requires the structural conditions of modern society, in order to exist.[1] There are various definitions for what constitutes a nation, however, which leads to several different strands of nationalism. It can be a belief that citizenship in a state should be limited to one ethnic, cultural, religious, or identity group, or that multinationality in a single state should necessarily comprise the right to express and exercise national identity even by minorities.[2] The adoption of national identity in terms of historical development, has commonly been the result of a response by an influential group or groups that is unsatisfied with traditional identities due to inconsistency between their defined social order and the experience of that social order by its members, resulting in a situation of anomie that nationalists seek to resolve.[3] This anomie

results in a society or societies reinterpreting identity, retaining elements that are deemed acceptable and removing elements deemed unacceptable, in order to create a unified community.[3] This development may be the result of internal structural issues or the result of resentment by an existing group or groups towards other communities, especially foreign powers that are or are deemed to be controlling them.[3] National flags, national anthems, and other symbols of national identity are commonly considered highly important symbols of the national community. While there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy',[7] equality and freedom have both been identified as important characteristics of democracy since ancient times.[8] These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to legislative processes. For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no unreasonable restrictions can apply to anyone seeking to become a representative, and the freedom of its citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally protected by a constitution.[9][10] According to some theories of democracy, popular sovereignty is the founding principle of such a system.[11] However, the democratic principle has also been expressed as "the freedom to call something into being which did not exist before, which was not given and which therefore, strictly speaking, could not be known."[12] This type of freedom, which is connected to human "natality," or the capacity to begin anew, sees democracy as "not only a political system [but] an ideal, an aspiration, really, intimately connected to and dependent upon a picture of what it is to be humanof what it is a human should be to be fully human."[13] Many people use the term "democracy" as shorthand for liberal democracy, which may include elements such as political pluralism; equality before the law; the right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances; due process; civil liberties; human rights; and elements of civil society outside the government. In the United States, separation of powers is often cited as a central attribute, but in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the dominant principle is that of parliamentary sovereignty (whilst maintaining judicial independence). In other cases, "democracy" is used to mean direct democracy. Though the term "democracy" is typically used in the context of a political state, the principles are applicable to private organizations and other groups as well. Majority rule is often listed as a characteristic of democracy. However, it is also possible for a minority to be oppressed by a "tyranny of the majority" in the absence of governmental or constitutional protections of individual or group rights. An essential part of an "ideal" representative democracy is competitive elections that are fair both substantively[14] and procedurally.[15] Furthermore, freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are considered to be essential, so that citizens are adequately informed and able to vote according to their own best interests as they see them.[16][17] It has also been suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of individuals to participate freely and fully in the life of their society.[18] With its emphasis on notions of social contract and the collective will of the people, democracy can also be characterized as a form of political collectivism because it is

defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.