UCA News
Contribute

Philippines

1991 PLENARY COUNCIL AGENDA TO BE DISCUSSED BY BISHOPS IN JULY

Updated: June 20, 1989 05:00 PM GMT
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Share this article :

Archbishop Oscar Cruz says the 1991 Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) will be a major topic of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) semi-annual meeting July 9-11.

Archbishop Cruz, former archbishop of San Fernando and PCP II national coordinator, said bishops will decide on the PCP organization and who will attend the event tentatively scheduled for early 1991.

The archbishop, also CBCP vice president, said that since the CBCP opted for a plenary council at their 1988 meeting, Religious and lay leaders have been asked what they think the primary concerns of the Philippine Church should be.

The survey results have been collated by his office and will be the starting point of CBCP deliberations in July, he said.

A plenary council is an assembly of all the members of the Church hierarchy and representatives of the clergy, Religious and laity.

The first Philippine council was in 1953, but according to Archbishop Cruz, many of its decrees were overtaken by Vatican Council II. In 1983, a new Code of Canon Law radically changed many Church laws.

Besides changes in the universal Church, developments have also taken place in the Philippine Church, underlining the need for another council, he said.

Pope John Paul II is very interested in PCP II, the first in the world since 1983, the archbishop said.

A "bishops´ primer" lists new realities in the Philippine Church.

The "new realities" include "the enormous increase in (Church) population -- over 100 percent, the awakening to the problems posed by social justice and human rights, stark poverty, migrations and refugees, the breaking down of peace and order, and a radical change in the socio-political situation."

The Church is confronted with a relative decrease in vocations compared to population increase, "the emerging of a zealous laity, the imperative need of using proper communications media for evangelization, and the rise of aggressive fundamentalist groups," the bishops´ primer says.

But Archbishop Cruz would not confirm if these concerns surfaced in his survey of more than 2,200 parish priests, major Religious superiors, heads of secular institutes, national and regional Church lay leaders, and bishops.

He said the council will discuss national concerns instead of specific problems in dioceses. Provincial and diocesan councils are expected to follow so council decisions can be properly implemented in specific places.

He noted efforts of dioceses which have come together and examined needs of the Church in their regions and outlined future Church directions.

In early June, three central Mindanao dioceses -- Kidapawan, Marbel and Cotabato (KIDMACO) -- concluded their first provincial council, attended by 150 Religious and lay leaders.

The KIDMACO council decided to strengthen Basic Ecclesial Communities. It also discussed livelihood, education, peace and order, agrarian reform, United States military bases and ecological problems as major Church concerns there.

It agreed to create Church-based monitoring teams and anti-graft councils to help the government implement social services and projects to help the poor.

It also opted to continue Church coordination with military and local officials in working for peace and justice in the region.

The national plenary council is not expected to be this specific, Archbishop Cruz said, adding that the 1953 council was "very legislative" and "normative in instrument," but the next council aims to be more pastoral and directional.

According to Archbishop Cruz, PCP II will have three stages: the "convocation" of the council in January or February 1991, the "celebration" of the council itself, and the "conclusion," the official closing of the council.

He said while all phases are important, implementation of the decisions will determine the council´s real impact.

About 450 participants are expected to attend the council, to take place at the San Carlos Seminary Complex in Makati and the minor seminary in Guadalupe.

The CBCP July meeting will decide who will be invited to the council.

END

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
November begins with the Feast of All Saints. That month will mark the beginning of a new UCA News series, Saints of the New Millenium, that will profile some of Asia’s saints, “ordinary” people who try to live faithfully amid the demands of life in our time.
Perhaps the closest they will ever come to fame will be in your reading about them in UCA News. But they are saints for today. Let their example challenge and encourage you to live your own sainthood.
Your contribution will help us present more such features and make a difference in society by being independent and objective.
A small donation of US$5 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goals.
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
YOUR DAILY
NEWSLETTER
Thank you. You are now signed up to our Daily Full Bulletin newsletter
 
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia