Manila Times/Manila
Lawmakers over the weekend said that they are hopeful that Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, the second among the youngest cardinals, will have an equal chance to be elected as the next Pope.
Rep Maria Carmen Apsay of Compostela Valley, said Filipinos should remain hopeful that Cardinal Tagle would earn the privilege of succeeding Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
“If he is chosen, he will be the first Asian, and indeed, the first Filipino to succeed to the throne, and it will affirm our country’s standing as the bastion of Catholicism,” Apsay said. However, she added that whoever becomes a Pope would have the support of Filipinos.
“We send our prayers for the Pope and his successor, and we look forward to the future leadership of the Catholic Church,” Apsay said.
Rep Winston Castelo of Quezon City, meanwhile, said: “His (Tagle’s) election will have a tremendous impact not just to the Roman Catholic Church but for Christianity. If that will happen, he will be the first Pope to come from a developing country,” Castelo said.Incidentally, the Philippines is the second largest Catholic country after Brazil, Castelo added.
The lawmaker said that Tagle’s election would also mean a longer papacy and a less conservative Church. “This would mean that the Church will be less Europe-centred,” Castelo said.
However, Rep Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela party-list expressed her apprehension with the thought of Tagle succeeding Pope Benedict XVI.
Ilagan said that as a Catholic living in a changing world beset by modern day problems, she would like to have a Pope who can shepherd the flock through these perilous and challenging times.“Does Cardinal Tagle have these qualities? Can he steer the Catholic Church towards reform and pay special attention to the Third World who are oppressed by the First World countries? Can he bring the Church to an honest confession of its sins and make amends? If he can, I will be interested,” Ilagan stressed.
Luis Antonio Tagle