Bishops hold plenum in Mindanao for 1st time

CBCP in Intramuros, Manila City Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will hold its plenary assembly next week in Cagayan de Oro City, the first time that the high-level meeting will be held in Mindanao.

More than 80 bishops from all over the country are expected to attend 128th plenary assembly from July 6 to July 8 at Chali Conference Center, the CBCP said on its news website on Friday.

The closed-door meeting will begin with an address by Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, CBCP president.

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Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, CBCP secretary general, said the agenda includes the election of chairs for the Commission on Catholic Education, Sub-commission on Retired, Sick and Elderly Priests, Sub-commission for Permanent Deacons and Office for the Postulation of the Causes of Saints.

There will also be discussions on the proposed activities for the Jubilee 2025 celebrations in the Philippines, Pantin added.

Prior to the assembly, the prelates will have a retreat from July 2 to July 4 at the Transfiguration Abbey run by the Benedictine monks in Malaybalay City.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, will be one of the speakers at the retreat, whose theme is “Synod spirituality: Embracing ecology in the light of Laudato Sí and Laudate Deum.”

The CBCP is currently composed of 83 active bishops, five priest administrators and 39 honorary members who are retired bishops.

The plenary assembly convenes twice a year, in January and July. When they are not in session, the Permanent Council acts on behalf of the episcopal conference. —Jerome Aning