Latest news with #CatholicBishops'ConferenceofthePhilippines
GMA Network
12-06-2025
- General
- GMA Network
Archbishop urges youth on NYD 2025: Be a close friend in discipleship
As the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines formally begins the celebration of the National Youth Day (NYD), Caceres Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon urged the youth to become each other's 'katood,' a Bicol word which means close friend or kindred spirit. Alarcon commenced the 2025 NYD celebration with an outdoor Mass at the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral on Wednesday. 'Walk, not simply because we need to walk. Walk but because we would like to show our love for God and our neighbor,' Alarcon, who heads the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Youth, said during his homily. "Let us be katood to one another,' he added. Alarcon also said one can be a close friend by sharing one's dreams, aspirations, and experiences, and by being a companion during difficult times. 'Let your friendships not simply be based on enjoyment. But let your friendships one that is nurtured in that common sense of mission and sense of purpose. Hindi lang may pinagsamahan kung hindi may malalim na pinagsamahan (not just a simple friendship but a deep attachment),' he said. With the theme 'Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer,' this year's NYD runs from June 11 to 14. According to a CBCP News report, over 8,000 delegates from 84 of the country's 87 ecclesiastical territories are participating in the celebration. Make the first, succeeding steps Alarcon also called on the youth to embody three characteristics in being disciples of Jesus Christ: courage, undying hope and perseverance. 'In the journey of life, one has to make a step. This means to walk, to jump. Do not remain in the realm of wishes and dreams. Realize. Bring things to reality,' Alarcon said. As he acknowledged that becoming disciples comes with obstacles, Alarcon reminded the youth that the 'easiest way to fail is not to try.' 'Life's journey is not simply travel. It is a pilgrimage — a journey with Jesus. And that pilgrimage, we call discipleship,' Alarcon said. 'To become victorious over skepticism, we must always take the first step. It is to walk with hope so that we may reach our destination,' he added. In 1986, the CBCP declared December 16 as National Youth Day. Since 1998, national celebrations of NYD have been held every two or three years. The Archdiocese of Cebu hosted the 2019 NYD. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NYD in the Archdiocese of Caceres was postponed in 2021. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
17-05-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
VP Sara attends thanksgiving Mass after peaceful elections in Davao City
Vice President Sara Duterte on Saturday attended a thanksgiving Mass following a "peaceful" Eleksyon 2025 in Davao City. King Pandia of Super Radyo Davao reported on Dobol B TV that the Mass was held at 9 a.m. at the Carmelite Church in Bajada. The mass was presided over by former Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles. Duterte was joined by his brother, Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte, and her nephew, councilor-elect Rodrigo "Rigo" Duterte II, as well as other local officials. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
16-05-2025
- General
- GMA Network
Vatican announces Pope Leo XIV's first Filipino appointment
The new bishop for the Prelature of Infanta is the first Filipino appointee of Pope Leo XIV, according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News. Fr. Dave Dean Capucao, 59, will be the fourth prelate of Infanta, succeeding retired Bishop Bernardino Cortez, who had led the prelature since January 2015. "The pope accepted Cortez's resignation, which he submitted upon turning 75 in July 2024 — the age at which bishops are required to offer their resignation under Ecclesiae Sanctae, the 1966 apostolic letter by Pope Paul VI," CBCP News reported. Capucao was ordained a priest for the Infanta prelature in 1994 and then was appointed founding pastor of a village parish in a poor area of Aurora province, where he served for six years. He earned a master's degree in intercultural and interreligious theology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen now Radboud University. He worked as a junior researcher and worked on a dissertation on religion and ethnocentrism, which he defended in 2009. It ws in 2006 that Capucao started parish work in the Netherlands and a year later was appointed a member of the pastoral team of Saint Ludger Parish in the area of Lichtenvoorde and Winterswijk. "The bishop-elect also holds a doctorate in sacred theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium," according to the report. He returned to the Philippines in 2011, served as a formator then rector at the prelature's St. Joseph Formation House (SJFH) in Quezon City. Capucao currently serves as president of the Center for Empirical Studies on Spirituality, Theology and Religion–Asia (CESSTREL-ASIA), a member of the prelature's Presbyteral Council and other international organizations. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Election 'letter' from Philippine bishops is fabricated
"Their moral authority will be lost if they continue to engage in political activity," reads a Visayan-language Facebook post shared May 9. It features screenshots of a document under the letterhead of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and with the signature of its president Cardinal Pablo David (archived link). "We humbly present the names of several individuals whose lives and aspirations we commend to the discernment of the faithful," reads the apparent "pastoral letter" to the nation's deeply Catholic population before listing the names of 12 Senate bets (archived link). Similar posts surfaced elsewhere on Facebook just before millions voted in a mid-term election largely defined by the explosive feud between President Ferdinand Marcos and impeached Vice President Sara Duterte (archived link). With 80 percent of precincts reporting, Senate candidates aligned with Duterte were on track to claim five of 12 seats up for grabs, an initial tally from the poll body released by local media ABS-CBN showed as of May 13 (archived link). The tally, if it holds, would give the vice president one more seat than predicted in nationwide polls -- a potentially crucial vote in a looming Senate impeachment trial tentatively scheduled for July. In a statement released on May 10, CBCP's secretary general Monsignor Bernardo Pantin said they do not endorse individual candidates (archived link). They instead provide "moral and social guidelines to help the faithful make informed choices." "If names of candidates are mentioned in supposed Church endorsements, consider them false or misleading," he added. A search of pastoral letters and statements on the CBCP website did not find the supposed document (archived here and here). The only pastoral letter so far signed by CBCP president David after he became cardinal in December 2024 was titled: "Is there still hope? CBCP pastoral letter calling on faithful to a pilgrimage of hope in Jubilee 2025" (archived here and here). It was issued February 2, 2025. Further review of CBCP documents from as far back as 1940 shows that statements related to elections did not contain any names of candidates (archived link). The circulating letter also bore several errors, misspelling "Bishops" in the CBCP's name as "Bischops" and identifying candidate Willie Revillame as "Willy" (archived link). AFP has debunked more election-related misinformation in the Philippines here.
The Star
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines head on Trump pope tweet: Insensitive, not funny
Philippine Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David touches a portrait of Pope Francis after a mass at the Manila Cathedral in Manila on April 22, 2025. - AFP MANILA: Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David denounced the artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photo shared by US President Donald Trump that portrayed him as the pope. 'The following AI-generated photo was posted by the US president himself, a few days after he attended the funeral of Pope Francis and while the Catholic world is still mourning. With all due respect to his office and to the American people, we'd like him to know it's not funny,' said David, Kalookan bishop and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. The Catholic Church concluded on Sunday (May 4) its nine days of mourning after Pope Francis was laid to rest on April 26. But speculations on who will be the next leader of the Catholic Church have grown louder ahead of the conclave set to begin on Wednesday. David, who will take part in that assembly, again reminded the faithful that 'The conclave is a sacred moment, guided not by popularity or strategy, but by prayer, humility and the collective listening of the Church's shepherds to God's will.' In the United States, the New York State Catholic Conference said: 'There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.' The image featuring Trump in a white cassock and pointed miter, or bishop's hat, was reposted by the White House from his Truth Social site. It was the topic of several questions during the Vatican's conclave briefing on Saturday, while Italian and Spanish news reports lamented its poor taste. — AP and Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
