MANILA, January 8, 2008— The head of Manila’s Roman Catholic Church will lead the faithful in the celebration of the yearly feast of the “Black Nazarene” on Friday.

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales will lead thousands of devotees of the Black Nazarene in a Mass at 7 a.m. tomorrow at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

MANILA, January 8, 2009— Opposition to renewed calls for the restoration of the death penalty was immediately raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) maintained that taking away life cannot and “will never stop” the commission of crimes.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, January 8, 2009─ The archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro welcomed the pilgrim image of Black Nazarene accompanied by seven members of the Hijos del Nazareno from the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo last January 5.

The pilgrim image of the famous icon arrived in Cagayan de Oro City at about 7 a.m. last Monday aboard Air Force C-130.

MANILA, January 8, 2009— The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged Christians to pray for an end to the ongoing bloody conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Fr Edwin Corros, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), said prayer is also needed for the safety of the Filipinos caught in the crossfire.

MANILA, January 7, 2008— A Catholic bishop appealed to authorities to keep scam-linked bank accounts owned by former agriculture secretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante frozen.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the Court of Appeals (CA) should not let Bolante touch his 32 bank accounts believed to be holding the unaccounted P728 million fertilizer funds.

OZAMIZ CITY, January 7, 2009— The Cofradia del Señor Santo Niño de Cebu-Ozamiz Chapter of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish has intensified its call for cessation of hostilities and peace to prevail in Mindanao as it prepares for the arrival of the pilgrim image of Señor Santo Niño from Cebu in time for the Feast of the Prince of Peace on January 25.