Pope appoints new Pinoy bishop

Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday evening (Manila time) appointed a new Filipino bishop who will be assigned to the diocese of Balanga in Bataan province. Bulacan native Msgr. Ruperto Santos will become the fourth bishop of the Balanga diocese, the Vatican announced at 6 p.m. Thursday. "(Msgr. Santos), until now Rector of Collegio Filippino in Rome, succeeds Socrates Villegas who was named archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in September 2009," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said in its news site. Santos’ appointment was released in the Vatican at noon Thursday (Rome time), or 6 p.m. in Manila. Papal Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams announced the appointment in Manila. Santos, a native of San Rafael in Bulacan, was ordained priest on October 30, 1958. No date has yet been set for his ordination and installation of Msgr. Santos as bishop of the Diocese of Balanga. The diocese has a population of around 600,000 Catholics. - KBK, GMANews.TV