Filipino cardinal stirs papal talk with rapid rise

[Vouthon]

Full article: huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130307/vatican-cardinals-tagle/

Huffington Post - Asia’s most prominent Roman Catholic leader knows how to reach the masses: He sings on stage, preaches on TV, brings churchgoers to laughter and tears with his homilies. And he’s on Facebook.

But Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s best response against the tide of secularism, clergy sex abuse scandals and rival-faith competition could be his reputation for humility. His compassion for the poor and unassuming ways have impressed followers in his homeland, Asia’s largest Catholic nation, and church leaders in the Vatican.

Tagle’s rising star has opened a previously unimaginable possibility: An Asian pope.

The Filipino prelate’s chances are considered remote, as many believe that Latin America or Africa – with their faster growing Catholic flocks – would be more logical choices if the papal electors look beyond Europe. But even the hint of papal consideration has electrified many in the heavily Catholic Philippines, where past pontiffs had been welcomed by millions with rock-star intensity.

“It’ll bring such immense glory to us and our country,” said Leo Matias, one of several waiters at a Chinese restaurant in Manila’s suburban Quezon city who served dinner to Pope John Paul II when he visited in 1995.

The restaurant has displayed the set of spoon, fork, table napkin, water goblet and knives – still unwashed after the pope’s meal of grilled fish and fried shrimp.

The talks surrounding Tagle have been fueled by prominent Vatican experts, who see in the boyish-looking cardinal the religious zest, stamina, charisma and communications skills that could energize the church facing crises on many fronts.

John Thavis, a Vatican analyst and author of “The Vatican Diaries,” said the selection of Polish-born John Paul II in 1978 shows the “unthinkable” can occur once the cardinals are closed off in the conclave.

“There are people, even Vatican officials here, who have whispered to me, `Tagle, he’s the man,’” Thavis told The Associated Press.

When asked about the papal buzz, Tagle demurred: “Only a speculation.”

“He’s an effective communicator and missionary at a time when Catholicism’s highest internal priority is a new evangelization,” John Allen, a Rome-based analyst, wrote for the National Catholic Reporter.

“Tagle incarnates the dramatic growth of Catholicism outside the West, putting a face on the dynamic and relatively angst-free form of Catholicism percolating in the Southern Hemisphere,” he said. “He would certainly be a symbol of the church in the emerging world, but given his intellectual and personal qualities, hardly a hollow one.”

Still, Tagle’s relative youth – at 55, he’s the second youngest among the cardinals – could be a liability. Cardinals could be reluctant to risk giving the reins of the Vatican to someone who could reign for decades.

The churchman who last caught the deep adoration of many Filipino Catholics was Cardinal Jaime Sin, who died in 2005. A beloved spiritual leader and moral compass, Sin helped rally multitudes in the massive “people power” revolts that ousted two presidents, including dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

Sin’s death left a vacuum in the church saddled with the task of shepherding Catholics in a country plagued by poverty, divisions, crimes and long-raging Muslim and Marxist insurgencies. Unlike Sin, Tagle was not propelled by any extraordinary events. But people who know him say that Tagle slowly carved a reputation for simple, day-to-day acts that defined him as a man of deep faith and intellect.

The younger of two children of a pious Catholic couple who worked in a bank, Tagle dreamed of becoming a doctor. But he was redirected by a Jesuit friend to the priesthood at a seminary in the upscale Ateneo de Manila University, where he graduated summa cum laude, according to his theology professor, the Rev. Catalino Arevalo.

He’s gifted with great communications skills. A wonderful storyteller with a bent for music, Tagle speaks fluent Italian, English and Tagalog. He also has proficient French and can say Mass in Latin.

But he prefers to stay in the background.

“He’s not somebody who sort of wants to, by personality, put himself at the center of the stage,” Arevalo said. “Now, if he’s called to be in front, he has all the capability of doing it.”

Tagle took clear positions on church and social issues but was never confrontational or “super militant,” Arevalo said. For instance, he encouraged dialogue when he helped lead an unsuccessful church campaign against the government-endorsed health plan that promotes contraceptives.

Tagle was ordained in 1982 and became bishop in 2001 at an old cathedral, about a block from his family’s home in Imus just south of Manila.

Aside from his church work, he taught theology in a hilltop seminary, where he lived for about two decades, staying in a room that had no television or air-conditioning, according to seminary staffers.

Even as a bishop, Tagle did not own a car. He took the bus or “jeepney,” the popular working-class minibus, to church and elsewhere. He ate with workers and sang for a church charity, impressing many with his baritone voice.

Tagle stood out for his powerful homilies. A few years ago, he started hosting a Sunday gospel show on TV, where he preached and answered questions. Staffers then opened a Facebook page for him, which has jumped to more than 120,000 followers.

Tagle’s path at some point crossed with the future pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who introduced him to John Paul II and reportedly assured the pontiff in jest that the Filipino with a youthful face has received his first communion.

Ratzinger appointed Tagle as a member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, or ITC, and was impressed with his research work and papers.

 

[Northumbrian]

I really like to listen to this Cardinal.

 

[jmjconder]

A person close in my life has him through “Adapt a Cardinal” …after reading this I asked this person for other prayer requests that would advance our Church!

 

[Crescentinus]

He’s the good-looking cardinal from the Far East!

 

[bsy]

Tagle took clear positions on church and social issues but was never confrontational or “super militant,” Arevalo said.

• EXACTLY!

In addition,

Cardinal Tagle graduated** “summa cum laude” twice.**

In Theology at Ateneo’s Loyola School of Theology and San Jose Seminary in 1982, while teaching full time.

And, in his doctor of theology course at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in 1991.

BRILLIANT!

 

[Windmill]

HuffPo is fairly liberal, and they are a secular paper. I don’t really put much stock in their assessment of a cardinal’s abilities to be Pope. I really have come to this point in listening to secular news on the Conclave: Listen to the issues that are important to them, the candidates that are likely to be Pope, and the direction the leadership of the Church should take…and believe the opposite.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

From everything I’ve read about him, he is theologically conservative, and shares the former Pope Benedict’s strong concerns about the abuse situation. He is also a self-effacing man - as Bishop, he once showed up on a bicycle, without notice, to conduct 4 a.m. mass for working men in a storefront church in a poor area because he heard the regular priest was sick.

Reading about his kindness, his charity, and his utter lack of ego, he reminds me a lot of Victor Hugo’s description of the Bishop in “Les Miserables.”

He’d get my vote if I were in the conclave.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

as Bishop, he once showed up on a bicycle, without notice, to conduct 4 a.m. mass for working men in a storefront church in a poor area because he heard the regular priest was sick.

That is… amazing… wow… I have to say, he sounds like an excellent candidate.

 

[Catherine_S]

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s best response against the tide of secularism, clergy sex abuse scandals and rival-faith competition could be his reputation for humility. His compassion for the poor and* unassuming ways have impressed followers in his homeland, Asia’s largest** Catholic nation, and church** leaders** in the Vatican.*
.
"He’s an* effective*** communicator and missionary at a time when Catholicism’s highest internal priority is a new evangelization,"
John Allen, a Rome-based analyst, wrote for the National Catholic *
Reporter.
.
He’s gifted with great*** communications skills
.
Tagle took* clear positions*** on** church** and social issues but was never confrontational or “super militant,” Arevalo said. For instance, he encouraged dialogue when he helped** lead** an unsuccessful church campaign against the government-endorsed health plan that promotes contraceptives
.
Aside from his church work, he taught theology in a hilltop seminary, where he lived for about two decades,** staying in a room** that had** no television or air-conditioning**, according to seminary staffers.
(= Contemplative)
.
Tagle stood out* for his powerful homilies**. A few years ago, he started hosting a Sunday gospel show on TV, where** he preached** and** answered questions.** Staffers then opened a Facebook page for him, which has jumped to more than 120,000 followers*
.
Ratzinger appointed Tagle as a member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, or** ITC**, and was** impressed** with his research work and papers. "I am sure that it was because of what he saw in him at the ITC that Pope Benedict chose him for Manila and then for the red hat" of a cardinal, said the Rev. Joseph Komonchak, one of Tagle’s instructors at Catholic University of America.
.

.

 

[Northumbrian]

HuffPo is fairly liberal, and they are a secular paper. I don’t really put much stock in their assessment of a cardinal’s abilities to be Pope. I really have come to this point in listening to secular news on the Conclave: Listen to the issues that are important to them, the candidates that are likely to be Pope, and the direction the leadership of the Church should take…and believe the opposite.

I hope you are not allowing the Huff Post’s enthusiasm to misjudge this excellent Cardinal papabile.

 

[rockonfaith1978]

God Bless you always Cardinal Chito Tagle!

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

From everything I’ve read about him, he is theologically conservative, and shares the former Pope Benedict’s strong concerns about the abuse situation. He is also a self-effacing man - as Bishop, he once showed up on a bicycle, without notice, to conduct 4 a.m. mass for working men in a storefront church in a poor area because he heard the regular priest was sick.

Reading about his kindness, his charity, and his utter lack of ego, he reminds me a lot of Victor Hugo’s description of the Bishop in “Les Miserables.”

He’d get my vote if I were in the conclave.

Sounds like a truly holy man. JPII and BXVI have done well in their picks.

 

[Vouthon]

This article is now in the Daily Mail:

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289720/Cardinal-Luis-Antonio-Tagle-Asias-leading-contender-pontiff.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

[Sarabande]

From everything I’ve read about him, he is theologically conservative, and shares the former Pope Benedict’s strong concerns about the abuse situation. He is also a self-effacing man - as Bishop, he once showed up on a bicycle, without notice, to conduct 4 a.m. mass for working men in a storefront church in a poor area because he heard the regular priest was sick.

Reading about his kindness, his charity, and his utter lack of ego, he reminds me a lot of Victor Hugo’s description of the Bishop in “Les Miserables.”

He’d get my vote if I were in the conclave.

This is what I have read as well about him. He appears to be a very holy and good man. Some of my Filipino relatives thinks he may still be too young to become Pope (and I think they would like to see him stay in the Philippines because he has done so much good there, which the country needs at this moment.), but to have a man like that as the next Pope would be wonderful.

 

[Vouthon]

Tagle is also one of two cardinals that SNAP (The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests) have deigned not to defame:

Rome (CNN) – A cardinal from the Philippines, another from Austria and an archbishop from Ireland would be the “least worst” choices to be the next pope, according to a group representing the victims of abuse by priests.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, released its list Thursday as cardinals held meetings at the Vatican in a prelude to the selection of the next pontiff.

The three are Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Austria; and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland.

Martin is not a cardinal, but SNAP noted that a man need not be a cardinal to be elected pope. Historically, the role has gone to cardinals, however.

CNN Vatican analyst John Allen, also a correspondent for National Catholic Reporter, wrote last month that Schoenborn “certainly has the right pedigree for the job.”

And Tagle has “been a leader in pushing the church in Asia to take an aggressive stance on clerical abuse,” Allen said in a series he wrote on the papal contenders.

Tagle would normally be considered too young for the role, but Benedict XVI’s almost unprecedented resignation might have changed the way the cardinals think, he said

edition.cnn.com/2013/03/07/world/europe/vatican-pope-selection/index.html

What this shows is that even those at odds with the church cannot find anything to hate in Tagle. At a sensitive time like this, that’s got to stand for something.

Tagle is a scrupulous defender of orthodoxy and opponent of both abortion and birth control legislation in his home country. However he is also a man very much in the spirit of Blessed Pope John XXIII & Blessed Pope John Paul II, who would be universally liked both inside and outside the church.

He doesn’t have any enemies. He’s thoroughly Orthodox and chosen by Benedict XVI; check. He’s young and modern; check. He’s friendly and loveable in character; check. He exudes natural warmth and charisma; check. He is outspoken on the sex abuse scandals; check. He is a great theologian; check…

I could go on but I simply can’t deny it. I love him

 

[Arizona_Mike]

Two more reasons I like this Cardinal so much:

In the Imus diocese, Tagle was famous for not owning a car and taking the bus to work every day, describing it as a way to combat the isolation that sometimes comes with high office. He was also known for inviting beggars outside the cathedral to come in and eat with him. One woman was quoted describing a time she went looking for her blind, out-of-work, alcoholic husband, suspecting she might track him down in a local bar, only to find that he was lunching with the bishop.

ncronline.org//blogs/ncr-today/papabile-day-men-who-could-be-pope-3

But perhaps the most televised tears by a papal candidate were shed by Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle when he received his red hat from Pope Benedict last November.

Asked about it at the time, Tagle said candidly, “I cry easily.”

In an interview yesterday with the Rome daily , Tagle recalled the episode and said he had personally apologized to Pope Benedict the day after his display of emotions.

“Pope Benedict answered with some significant words: ‘No, you don’t need to apologize. We need heart in the church!” the 55-year-old cardinal said.

johnthavis.publishpath.com/tears-and-whispers