Vintage Reuter.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan

LAST SEPT. 5, HOURS BEFORE THE HOUSE BEgan its plenary voting on the impeachment case against President Macapagal-Arroyo, Speaker Jose de Venecia, in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, awarded the 89-year-old Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J. the Congressional Medal of Achievement. The award cited Father Reuters unconditional gift of love and service for the Filipinos as epitomized by his role as a freedom fighter during the Japanese occupation. It cited how he endured incarceration and starvation at the prison camp in Los Banos, where he provided a source of strength and inspiration for others through his songs and prayers. The citation also paid tribute to the role of this blue-eyed priest from New Jersey, United Stateswho had become a Filipino citizen decades agoin defending press freedom, human rights and democracy during the post-war dictatorship, and his exceptional talent and dedication to serve. The conferment of the award provided a most welcome respite from all the thick politicking.

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Father Reuter served his adopted people through teaching, writing and directing world-class plays and dramas, coaching basketball and debating teams, inculcating ethical principles as retreat master, spiritual counselor, columnist. The congressional award recognized how he shaped the hearts, minds and souls of generations of Filipinos with his words and deeds in the fields of education, history, arts and communicationsmolding the vision and values of the nations future leaders, transforming them into men and women for others. But it was as the single most effective communicator of the Catholic Church in East Asia, through organizations Father Reuter founded in the mass mediasuch as the Family Theater and the Federation of Catholic Broadcastersas well as the humanitarian initiatives for the betterment of the less fortunate as exemplified in his work in the Hospital of Our Lady of Peace that he was recognized.

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Among the legions who fell under Father Reuters spell and tutelage in the old Ateneo de Manila was my brother Roger Olivares, a businessman and the author of a number of books, including his latest, which he describes as a sequel to Dr. Jose Rizals Noli Me Tangere. Roger, one of the bright boys in his AB class in the late 50s, was its orator and debater, and he wrote this of his mentor: