Over 120 Pinoy World Youth Day delegates still in Spain

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said some 127 Filipino delegates to the recent 26th World Youth Day (WYD) celebration are still in Madrid, Spain. On Tuesday, Fr. Conegondo Garganta, Executive Secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY), said some 30 percent of the 427 official ECY delegates to the WYD. Aside from the 427 delegates, some 1,500 Filipino non-ECY members also attended the WYD celebration from August 16 to 21 in Madrid, Spain. During a weekly Church-organized forum in Manila, Garganta said “As of today, we expect that some 70 percent of our (ECY) delegation is already back here in the country." Garganta appealed to those who are still in Spain to return home to the Philippines immediately to avoid jeopardizing the relations of the CBCP and the Spanish Embassy in Manila. “(Sana) bumalik at pasalamat at nakadalo sila sa 26th WYD sa Spain then bring home with them the learning that they had and madami sila i-share sa kanilang babalikan dito," the priest said. Delegates who failed to return In the previous WYD celebrations, some Filipino delegates failed to return to the Philippine after attending the 2002 WYD in Canada and 2005 WYD in Germany. Filipino participants to the 2011 WYD were issued Schengen Visas from the Spanish Embassy permitting them to stay in Spain until mid-September. According to the 2011 WYD website, the event "is a great worldwide encounter with the Pope which is celebrated every three years in a different country." The intent of the WYD is to "share with the whole world the hope of many young people who want to commit themselves to Christ and others," the website said. The WYD is "open to all young people who want to take part in a festive encounter with their contemporaries centered on Jesus Christ," it added. - VVP, GMA News