News » Nation CBCP starts 3-day plenary assembly in Manila

January 26, 2013 6:44pm

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines on Saturday started a three-day plenary assembly at the Pius XII Center in Manila.

At least 98 bishops, 10 of them retired, attended the plenary to tackle "administrative and national concerns," the CBCP said in an article posted on its news site.

However, the article did not elaborate on the "administrative and national concerns" the plenary is going to tackle.

Pope Benedict XVI imparted an “apostolic blessing” to the bishops and said he trusts that their meeting “will bear fruit,” the CBCP added added.

"He also prays for the activities planned for the beginning of the nine-year period in preparation for the fifth centenary celebrations of Christianity in the Philippines," it said.

Benedict XVI's message was relayed via Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, through Papal nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto.

Pinto graced the opening of the plenary assembly, the CBCP said.

Before the three-day assembly, the bishops attended a two-day seminar on Spirituality of Stewardship and on the theme of the recently concluded Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.

The CBCP has more than 120 active and honorary members invited to attend its bi-annual meeting. — LBG, GMA News