CEBU, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), during its 126th Plenary Assembly held in Kalibo, Aklan recently, has unanimously approved the plan to break the Cebu Archdiocese into three.
“Ang atong proposal kabahin sa Sugbuswak, unanimously approved sa tanan nga obispo. Nalipay sila ning atong pangandoy ug kining importante nga requirement, ang approval of the CBCP, nadawat na nato. Padayon kita sa dugang pa nga paningkamot sa panginahanglan. Pero sa pagkakaron, angay lamang malipayon kita,” said Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma in his video message posted on the Facebook page of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu.
The term "Sugbuswak" is an amalgamation of several terms: "Sugbu" the Cebuano name for Cebu; "sugwak" means to gush forth, like the blood and water coming from the pierced side of Christ; and "buswak" which means to blossom.
Thus, Sugbuswak is an apt appellation to the establishment of new dioceses in the archdiocese of Cebu.
Prior to the formal presentation of the proposal, series of Archdiocesan-wide consultations and studies were done by some individuals forming into different committees who came up with significant findings and the feasibility of forming another two dioceses in the Archdiocese of Cebu.
“This is done primarily to achieve a more efficient pastoral administration and a more personal approach to the spiritual and pastoral needs of all the faithful in the whole local church of Cebu,” Palma said.
In a previous interview, Palma expressed hope that Rome, through the Holy Father, will approve the proposal to divide it into three dioceses to be closer to its faithful.
By January next year, Palma and team will finalize the proposal and will send it to Rome for approval.
Once approved, the Cebu Archdiocese, the biggest in the country, will be divided into three: The Mother Church, one diocese in the Northern part and another diocese in the Southern part of Cebu.
For the Southern part, they are considering Carcar City as the center, while they are looking at either in Danao City or Bogo City for the Northern part.
He said all these are being considered as they are only looking what is best for the parishioners.
Palma has pointed out that there is a need to divide the archdiocese especially there are parishes that are huge and very far that it would take a day to travel.
“As it happened in the past, it’s about time that Mother Church will give birth to local churches,” Palma had said, adding it is up to Rome to approve the proposal. — (FREEMAN)