Roy Lagarde

MANILA, Feb. 18, 2010- The head of Manila's Catholic Church said condoms are not the answer to the country's fight against HIV and describing as "narrow-minded" the government's response to it.

Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said condoms will never solve the AIDS epidemic and could make the problem even worse.

Rosales assailed the Department of Health (DOH), saying they are being instrumental to the deterioration of the morals of the society, especially the youth.

MANILA, Feb. 4, 2010- With the May elections drawing near, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) called for a ceasefire in its feud with a fellow poll watchdog.

PPCRV national chairperson Henrietta de Villa said they are willing to work with the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) if only to pave the way for credible and peaceful elections.

"We can always work together in many ways," De Villa told reporters on Thursday.

MANILA, Jan. 22, 2010- President Arroyo has no power to appoint the next chief justice of the Supreme Court, constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, said Friday.

Bernas, dean emeritus of the Ateneo Law School, said that Mrs. Arroyo will be violating the Constitution if she would insist in appointing the successor of Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

The Charter, he said, forbids the President from making appointments within 60 days before her term ends on June 30 this year.

MANILA, Jan. 15, 2010-The head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has called for a second mass collection for Haitian relief efforts.

The decision was reached Friday night by CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar after a consultation with members of the CBCP Permanent Council.

Parishes are requested to take the second collection in all Masses that will be held next Sunday, January 24 in all parishes across the country.

MANILA, Dec. 11, 2009- Leaders of the influential Catholic Church warned the Arroyo government against a martial law spill over other parts of the country.

Some bishops may have allowed it in Maguindanao due to its "complicated" situation there but imposing it in other areas is another story, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said.

Cruz, who is opposed to the military rule in the Southern Philippine province, said the government is simply at the wrong hands for a martial law.

"For me, President Arroyo has no more credibility to govern the country," he said.

MANILA, Dec. 1, 2009- Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar formally assumed the presidency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) today.

The 69-year old, who was elected last July by an overwhelming majority of bishops from 86 dioceses, will serve a two-year term. He is the 18th head of bishops' collegial body.

Prior to his election, Odchimar was the vice-president of the CBCP. He succeeds Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo who served for two terms.

Pressing issues

COTABATO CITY, November 12, 2009-Fr. Michael Sinnott, the Columban missionary who was abducted October 11 in Pagadian City, was released around 4:30 this morning in Sangali, Zamboanga City.

The Irish missionary was turned over by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to agents of the Philippine government.

MANILA, Oct. 29, 2009- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has accredited the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) as its citizen's arm for the May 2010 elections.

In an en banc resolution dated Oct. 26, the Comelec noted that for the past several years, the Catholic Church-backed poll watchdog has consistently worked for credible elections.

"The petitioner's participation during the past electoral exercises and its commitment towards honest, clean, credible and peaceful elections are commendable," the resolution read.

MANILA, Oct. 26, 2009-Father Michael Sinnott, an elderly Columban missionary kidnapped in Southern Philippines, has won praise for his courage from Pope Benedict XVI.

In a tribute on World Mission Day last Oct. 18 in the Vatican, the pope hailed the frail 79-year old priest's work even in the face of terrible danger.

Addressing a crowd of thousands, he recalled the work of Catholic missionaries around the world who serve the weakest people, sometimes at the risk of their own lives.