On January 19, 2008, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (quoting from a letter of Vatican Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone) announced that Pope Benedict XVI "praised the courage of, and was saddened over the brutal and tragic killing of Fr. Reynaldo Roda in his ministry as head of Notre Dame School." The Pope wrote Jolo Bishop Angelito Lampon: "calls upon the perpetrators to renounce the ways of violence and to play their part in building a just and peaceful society, where all can live together in harmony."