Filipino Cardinal Tagle one of 10 frontrunners to be the next Pope

MANILA – With the surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, newly-installed Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Archdiocese of Manila is reportedly among the 10 frontrunner cardinals being considered to be the next Pope.

This as the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines (CBCP), President Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay and other Filipino leaders expressed sadness over the Pope’s decision to resign.
“Not only the Catholic world, but all peoples and nations of goodwill are filled with great regret as news comes of Pope Benedict XVI announcing he intends to relinquish the Petrine Ministry on February 28 of this year,” said Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
“At this time, when the Pope has announced the physical challenges he faces makes it difficult to continue bearing the burdens of his office, we join the Catholic world and all whose lives he has touched, in prayer and sympathy. May he find respite from his physical challenges, and peace and contentment in the seclusion of retirement,”he said.
Bishops and all Catholics in the Philippines are hoping that a Filipino will be the next pope, a senior church figure said as he promoted the credentials of the country’s only candidate, Cardinal Tagle.
“We Filipinos would like a Filipino to be pope. Any country would be proud of that — that your own cardinal becomes pope,” said Father Francis Lucas, head of the CBCP mass media commission.
“The ordinary people, they would like Tagle to be pope because he is a Filipino,” he said.
Lucas said Tagle, 55, had many favorable qualities for a future pontiff.
“He is humble, he is meek, he is very bright, he is media-savvy, he is simple. He used to ride the bus to appointments but he kept on arriving late because of traffic,” Lucas said.
The secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Monsignor Joselito Asis, said there were many candidates to be the next pope from around the world, and raised the prospect of him coming from Asia.
“No one can pinpoint a dominant name so it is exciting,” Msgr. de Asis said.
The Philippines is one of the most important countries in Asia for the Catholic Church. About 80 percent of the country’s 100 million people are Catholic, a legacy of the country’s former Spanish colonial rule.
Tagle also expressed sadness over Pope Benedict ‘s resignation. It was a surprise and brought great sadness, Tagle said of the resignation.
“Pope Benedict XVI’s renunciation of the ministry as Bishop of Rome on Feb 11, 2013 came as a surprise. The announcement also brought sadness to us. We felt like children clinging to a father who bids them farewell,” he said in a message released Tuesday.
However, he admired the Pontiff for being true to himself and to his ministry.
“But sadness gives way to admiration for the Holy Father’s humility, honesty, courage and sincerity,” the Cardinal said.
With this, he expressed gratitude to the Pope for his paramount desire to promote the greater good of the Church.
“We know that the Papal ministry is not an easy task. So we thank Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected Pope at the rather advanced age of 78, for selflessly guiding the Church these past eight years with his teaching, simplicity and gentleness,” he added
The Archbishop of Manila also urged the faithful to pray for Pope Benedict XVI especially as he devotes the coming years at the service of the Church through a life of prayer.
Likewise, he asked the people to pray for the Cardinal Fathers who will elect a new Pope in the coming conclave.
“We know that the Papal ministry is not an easy task. So we thank Pope Benedict XVI… for selflessly guiding the Church these past eight years with his teaching, simplicity and gentleness,” Tagle said.
The Vatican has said it expects a new pope to be in place in time for Easter, which falls on March 31 this year, although the decision is ultimately up to the cardinals of the Catholic Church who meet in a secret conclave.
According to a Reuters dispatch posted by the Spirit Daily website, Cardinal Tagle, the archbishop of Manila, is No. 9 among the frontrunners and he is the youngest candidate at 55.
The 10 frontrunner cardinals as of Feb. 11 are: Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 65, Brazil; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, 62, United States; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68, Canada; Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, 70, Italy; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, Argentina; Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, 63, Brazilla; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn,67, Austria; Cardinal Angelo Schola, 71, Italy; Cardinal Luis Tagle, 55, Philippines; and Cardinal Peter Turkson, 64, Ghana.
Reuters said that “Tagle has the charisma often compared to that of the late Pope John Paul. He is also close to Pope Benedict after working with him at the International Theological Commission. While he has many fans, he only became a cardinal in 2012 and conclaves are wary of young candidates.”
Pope Benedict stunned the world when he announced he would resign effective Feb. 28 because as leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics all over the world it requires “both strength of mind and body” and he is now 85.
This is the first time in nearly 600 years that a Pope resigns.
In announcing his resignation, Pope Benedict said: “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”
The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
With the resignation of Pope Benedict, a Conclave of Cardinals will elect a new Pontiff next month in Vatican.
Cardinal Tagle is expected to attend the conclave.
Pope Benedict was elected Pontiff in 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II.
Tagle will be part of the conclave that will vote for the successor of Pope Benedict XVI after the latter officially vacate his position on Feb 28.
There are 11 cardinals that will be participating in the voting, Tagle included. The biggest block is from Latin America.
Father Francis Lucas, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Social Communication and Mass Media said that of the 184 existing cardinals, 118 or 121 cardinals will vote for the new Pope.
He added there are 92 steps that need to be followed to name the next head of the Vatican.
Lucas was asked there would be criteria to be followed in choosing a Pope. He said there is none.
“Wala naman talaga qualification e…syempre based on tradition somebody who can give direction, somebody who is spiritual, somebody who is knowledgeable…kasi sa pagpili pa lang ng Obispo nascreen na ‘yan…” he added.
He added it is possible the successor could come from the 16 cardinals appointed by Pope Benedict XVI. The 16 include Tagle.
“Cardinal Tagle is a papbile but we are never sure. We leave it to the Holy Spirit to do its job to elect the next pope,” Lucas added.
On the other hand, the CBCP official said Filipinos should stop pushing for “our own cardinal to be the next Pope.”
“I said let us not talk of pushing our own candidate. That’s totally wrong, leave it to the Holy Spirit to really inspire the cardinals in choosing the next leader of the Catholic Church, a Pope who will really serve as a good pastor, firm in its faith with all humility and push for what is good for the whole society,” he added.
Asked if Tagle has the qualities of being a pope, he answered affirmatively.
“He’s humble, meek, simple, bright, media savvy, spiritual. He prays a lot parang all of the above nasa kanya na. hindi mo makitaan ng yabang sa katawan…”