Archbishop Rosales to mark birthday with blood-letting event

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales will mark his 79th birthday with a blood-letting activity at the Manila Archdiocese in Intramuros on August 5, or five days before his actual birthday on August 10. The Archdiocese of Manila and the Philippine Red Cross are organizing the bloodletting, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said on Sunday. “Your precious blood will not only be a special gift to the Cardinal but a means for others to live," said Fr. Sanny de Claro, head of the Human Resource Development Department of Manila archdiocese. Dubbed “RCAM Celebrating Life IV… a Birthday Gift to our Cardinal," the bloodletting drive is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the fourth floor of the Arzobispado Building in Intramuros. The CBCP said the faithful are encouraged to donate blood as “a gift and as an expression of love for the cardinal." It noted the bloodletting started in 2007, and has since became a part of the prelate’s birthday celebration. Under his leadership, the Manila Archdiocese established the “Pondo ng Pinoy" project in June 2004 to help the poor. Rosales, a native of Batangas City, was born Aug. 10, 1932. He was ordained priest on March 23, 1958, and was appointed Manila Auxiliary Bishop by Pope Paul VI in August 1974. He was then appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Prelature (later diocese) of Malaybalay, Bukidnon in June 1982. A staunch environmentalist, he denounced the rampant illegal logging in the diocese. The late Pope John Paul II appointed him Manila Archbishop on September 15, 2003. Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal on March 24, 2006. - VVP, GMA News