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March 29, 1972

1. Decision to make: Subversions, the media.

2. List down the countries with which we have an unfavorable trade balance. Organize the exporters to make special efforts to export to them. Start out with Australia.

3. Assign special salas or courts for cases of anti-graft, corruption, malversation, dishonesty of government officials.

4. MIA. Kearns visit, April 4-6. Include new International Airport.

5. Post Office-Appt. Tanabe.

My own Spiritual Exercise. I asked the Lord for a sign. And he has given it. In the meditation this morning the following thoughts were brought out.

My job is too heavy. But your will not mine be done.

The permissiveness of society must be balanced by authoritativeness. The two poles must be given weight and equal importance.

Then in the Exercise—is it for the glory of God that there be authoritativeness? Yes for we return order where there is chaos.

Fr. Ferriols spoke of recognizing the Relative of the Absolute and the Absolute in the Relative. As well as need for competence.

Spiritual Exercises on the Specific Problem of Martial Law. There are certain themes that one must be sensitive to. Thus relativity. Food is good. But meat not always good. Thus, if one has had an appendectomy, meat is not good. This is the relative value of meat. Nor is cyanide to be taken at all. This is the absolute value of certain things to be taken. So I conclude that freedom is not always good. There may be periods in a country’s life when it is like meat. For the time being it must be curtailed or denied.

And the permissiveness of our society has spawned the many evils that will wreck our Republic. It must now be balanced with authoritativeness and that is martial law. However, I put as a condition the occurrence of massive terrorism which would alarm the people as well as the authorities.

And the discussion on authoritativeness to balance permissiveness comes incidentally in answer to some inquiry as to the problem of parents over teenaged children. The Father spoke of the problem of the Ateneo, where in the 1960s, the authoritativeness of the decade was balanced by the Ateneo with permissiveness by the Ateneo administration. And now the KMs who profess attention and ‘nagwawala’ nothing is evil or immoral. This has resulted in disorder in the mission to train and give competence in chemistry, economics, engineering, etc. which even the KMs with their avowed desire for a new society would need.

So Father Cruz, our former retreat master, has instituted authoritativeness which has made him unpopular but may have saved the Ateneo.

But that this should be talked about when not in the subject of the meditation. This is the sign that I have asked of God.