LIPA (PHILIPPINES)
CBCP News Service (Catholic Bishops of the Philippines)
January 19, 2025
By Roy Lagarde
Catholic bishops from across the Philippines will convene next week for their biannual plenary assembly to pray and discuss key issues facing the Church today.
The assembly, set for Jan. 25 to 27, will be preceded with a three-day seminar on “transparency and accountability” within the Church.
The event, hosted by the Archdiocese of Lipa, will be held at Seda Hotel in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the seminar will involve not only bishops but also financial administrators.
The seminar will feature speakers from the Philippines, as well as from Rome, London, and the United States.
It is a follow-up to a similar workshop held at the Vatican in June 2024, which some Filipino bishops and priests attended.
The Vatican seminar aimed to equip Church leaders with practical tools to promote transparency within their organizations.
Msgr. Pantin said the CBCP decided to “cascade” the seminar to the Philippines to extend its benefits to diocesan financial officers as well.
Saturday will see the formal start of the 129th bishops’ plenary assembly, the highest decision-making body of the CBCP.
Among other topics, Msgr. Pantin said that deliberations will focus on the themes of formation, social action, and the Synod on Synodality.
With May elections approaching, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) will also report on its preparations for the midterm polls.
On the final day of the assembly, Jan. 27, a Mass will be presided over by Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, Secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Pagazzi, who will be in Manila next week, is also scheduled to visit Ateneo de Manila University and the University of Santo Tomas.
The CBCP currently has 126 members, including 84 active bishops, 38 honorary or retired bishops, and four diocesan priest-administrators.