In what is considered to be a "rare move," Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday appointed three Filipino Catholic Church officials to their new posts in one day. The announcement was relayed by the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila through a communiqué sent to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The three prelates who were given new assignments were:
Laoag Bishop Sergio Utleg, appointed archbishop of Tuguegarao; Msgr. Jose Bantolo, appointed bishop of Masbate; and Msgr. David William Valencia Antonio, as auxiliary bishop of Masbate. Bishop Utleg Utleg is currently the chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission Indigenous Peoples. Utleg will succeed Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan, 78, whose resignation the Pope has accepted, the CBCP said. Talamayan had filed his resignation as early as 2008, when he reached the age limit of 75. Utleg will be serving some 1.3 million Catholics, 82 priests and 122 religious. Monsignor Bantolo Bantolo is presently the vicar general of the Diocese of San Jose de Antique. He was born in Guisijan town in Antique on November 12, 1960 and was ordained priest on April 21, 1986. "The Diocese of Masbate has no prelate since 2009 after Bishop Joel Baylon was transferred to the Diocese of Legazpi," the CBCP said. The CBCP added Bantolo will serve the diocese with a population of 704,000 Catholics, 56 priests, and 18 religious. Monsignor Antonio Antonio is presently the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese. He was born in Nagtupacan, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur on December 1, 1963 and ordained a priest on December 1, 1988. - VVP, GMA News 
GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
