Bishops lose friend and brother

With the death of Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, Archbishop Emeritus of Manila, the country’s Philippine Bishops have lost “a friend and brother.”

This sentiment was expressed in behalf of all the members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) by its president, Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla of Davao, who said he learned of the Cardinal’s death just minutes after it happened, through a telephone call from Bishop Socrates Villegas of Bataan. Bishop Villegas, who had been the Cardinal’s private secretary for more than 20 years, was at the Cardinal’s bedside.

"The Catholic Bishops are saddened by the departure of friend and a brother,” Archbishop Capalla said in a statement released this afternoon. “Cardinal Sin was a great man, a great Filipino, a great prince of the Church. We are saddened that he left us. But we rejoice that he has entered into Real Life – one that never ends.”

Cardinal Sin, who at 39 was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Jaro with right of succession on March 18, 1967, was the youngest ever to be a member of the CBCP. He officially took over the post of Bishop of Jaro in October 1972 at the age of 44.

Two years after, he was appointed Archbishop of Manila, and in 1976 was appointed Cardinal by Pope Paul VI.

In 1977, he was elected president of the CBCP for a two-year term, and re-elected to serve another term until 1981.

Through all these years, the Cardinal has never missed attending the Plenary Assemblies of the CBCP, which are held twice a year (in January and July). He had always made the trip to Tagaytay, where the meetings had been held until two years ago, even during the latter part of his illness, and had always been an active participant during the assemblies. #

Pls. refer: Peachy E. Yamsuan/Archdiocesan Office of Communications/5273962