Philippine Catholic bishops will hold an online meeting next month to discuss ways to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, head of the social action arm of the bishops’ conference, said they will also have “reflections that will lead us to our pastoral action.”
He said “pastoral approaches with regards to the issue of the ‘new normal’ due to the pandemic” will be tackled during the online meeting.
Bishop Bagaforo said the church leaders will also discuss the official stand of the bishops’ conference on the controversial anti-terrorism bill.
“The most urgent issue, I think, is our stand on the anti-terror law,” said the prelate.
He said the meeting will also tackle preparations for the 500 years of the arrival of Christianity in the country.
For the first time, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has cancelled this year its plenary assembly that was scheduled next month.
Father Marvin Mejia, secretary general of the bishops’ conference, earlier announced that the bishops’ annual retreat, which usually precedes the assembly, will also be moved to January.
The bishops cited as reason for the cancellation of the meeting the present health condition caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.
The assembly, one of two annual gatherings of the bishops, was supposed to be held at Pius XII Center from July 11 to 13.
Held twice a year, the plenary assembly is considered the highest decision-making body of the bishops’ conference.
When the assembly is not in session, the Permanent Council acts for and in behalf of the conference.
The beginnings of the Philippine bishops’ conference can be traced back to as early as 1945 when the conference was still known as the Catholic Welfare Organization.
In line with Vatican II developments, the organization became the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in January 1968.
This is the first time the bishops’ plenary assembly is cancelled since the conference was formally established.
