Santosh Digal

Speaking to priests during Holy Week, the Archbishop of Manila underscored that the priesthood does not confer power, but offers the gift derived from Christ to witness and share the faith.

According to security forces the group behind the assassination are not linked to the Dickpus gang. The bishops call for the case to be resolved immediately. The missionary’s body will be brought to Manila today for the funeral.

Police arrest a farmer from Lubuagan area for the crime, and two people who were present at the scene when he shot the priest. For investigators the crime was committed under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

A survey by SWS reveals that 3.4 million Filipino households experience hunger some of the time. For a second time, the problem touches 19 per cent of the population.

The Vienna-based International Peace Foundation, has confirmed a visit by 21 Nobel laureates, part of the “Southeast Asia-wide peace dialogue project”.

In Buntatala village in Jaro, a hospice is under construction to shelter workers from the local parish and other Catholic institutions. Project Director Antonio Meloto affirms: “poverty could be significantly reduced if the rich families and big corporations shared their wealth in helping provide decent homes for the poor”.

The chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines urges youth to participate in May 14 poll, not only by becoming politically active but also and especially by showing God’s love in every situation of life.

After travelling to the intra-Korean border, John Paul II’s gift is in the Philippines where it will inspire people to change their unchristian ways.

A landslide on February 17, 2006 almost wiped out this community south of Manila, killing more than a thousand people. Among the survivors 21 young students who, thanks to the intervention of a local priest, were able to complete high school and work through the trauma caused by the natural disaster.

For Lent, the archbishop of Manila urged the faithful to offer the fruit of their sacrifice to hungry children. In the Philippines, 7.5 million children aged under 10 suffer from malnutrition.

The prelates call on the authorities to give the population the findings of the commission of inquiry into political assassinations that left more than 830 journalists, activists and politicians dead since 2001.

A group of Muslim leaders from the south of the country have written 55 sermons that will be read throughout the coming year “to counter the lies of those who barely know the Koran.”