MANILA - The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday appealed to the faithful not to hold extravagant Christmas parties as much as possible, in solidarity with the victims of Typhoon Odette. CBCP president Bishop Pablo Virgilio David urged them to help communities devastated by the natural calamity. "Perhaps instead of spending a lot on lavish Christmas parties and exchange gifts, we can put together whatever we can and contribute it to relief operations," David said in an article posted on the CBCP news website. Earlier, the bishops' group declared Christmas Day, December 25 and 26, as national days of prayer for the typhoon victims. Dioceses are also encouraged to hold a second collection in all Masses on these days for the church's relief operations headed by Caritas Philippines, the Church's social action arm. It reported that at least 10 dioceses were heavily affected by "Odette" in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao
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