“During his time as Archbishop of Manila and, accordingly, the titular head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Cardinal Tagle allowed the Church to get involved in partisan politics.”
For Filipinos, it is always nice to learn that a fellow Filipino makes a first in the annals of history, or puts the Philippines on the world map.
In 1974, Filipinos were very proud that chess wiz Eugene Torre became the first grandmaster from Asia, and that the Philippines became the first country in Asia to host the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant.
Many Filipinos proudly remember 1975 for Thrilla in Manila, the most famous heavyweight boxing championship match in history—between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. The Philippines is the first country in Asia to host a heavyweight boxing championship bout.
In 1978, from July 18 to October 18, at the height of the Cold War, the Philippines hosted the world chess championship match in Baguio City between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi (Karpov won and retained the title) from the communist world and a former Soviet citizen who sought political asylum in Switzerland.
Filipinos proudly note that the Philippines is the first country in Asia to host the championship match.
Last month, a British organization announced that Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle of the Philippines has a very strong chance of succeeding Pope Francis.
At 85 years of age, Pope Francis is showing signs that his health is past its prime. Like Pope Benedict XVI before him, there is word in the Vatican about his possible retirement.
That British report sent pro-Tagle friars all over the Philippines in a frenzy. It also triggered the curiosity of some Filipinos.
While the idea of having the first Filipino Pope elected in contemporary times sounds good and may be something to be proud of by Filipinos, some important questions have been raised by some sectors, Catholic or otherwise, about Tagle getting the papacy.
First, this current talk about Tagle succeeding Pope Francis is in bad taste.
Pope Francis is still very much around, and it is quite unbecoming for Catholics in the Philippines to be speculating about an imminent vacancy in the papacy for Tagle to fill up.
Next, an ideal Pope is one who is tolerant of others, is compassionate and forgiving, and promotes harmony amongst his people. It is not enough that a candidate for the papacy espouses these principles; he must practice what he preaches.
Tagle does not seem to possess those qualities.
During his time as Archbishop of Manila and, accordingly, the titular head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Cardinal Tagle allowed the Church to get involved in partisan politics. He was also very critical of then-President Rodrigo Duterte.
What Tagle did was in violation of the separation of Church and State mandated in the Constitution.
Under his watch, Tagle allowed in the homilies paragraphs of partisan politics, political division, hatred, and vindictiveness preached by many cardinals, bishops, priests, and the like.
The clerics had the habit of making highly politicized public statements designed to discredit the administration of President Duterte and to urge Catholics to oppose the government.
In 2018, the news media reported that during a mass he officiated for then-Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a rabid opponent of President Duterte, Father Noel Gatchalian admitted he had been praying hard for President Duterte to get sick. Imagine that! A priest praying for someone to get sick!
That same year, Father Jose Galoy, the parish priest in a plush village in Makati, tried to make a lucrative commercial venture of wedding ceremonies in his parish. Public disapproval forced to abandon his business plans.
Caloocan City Bishop Pablo Virgilio David loved to travel to distant places just to deliver a speech against the government. His homilies were and are often directed against the government.
In December 2018, Father Decoroso Olmilla, a parish priest in Mandaue City, was arrested by the police after the young daughter of his convent’s cook complained about the injuries she sustained in the hands of Olmilla.
The police report stated that Olmilla hit the girl’s butt with a box and kicked her because the girl forgot to feed Olmilla’s pet dog.
Earlier in 2017, the news media reported that Msgr. Arnel Lagarejos of Taytay, Rizal was arrested by the police for bringing a 13-year old girl to a motel in Marikina City.
There is no record that I am aware of which indicates if Tagle admonished these clerics.
Tagle himself is not known for candor and truthfulness.
In 2010, the Catholic Church filed a criminal case against Intramuros tour guide Carlos Celdran after the latter went to the Manila Cathedral and displayed a sign with the name “Padre Damaso” on it. Celdran was convicted.
In a television interview, Tagle said the Church had already forgiven Celdran, but the “People of the Philippines” were the ones who pursued the criminal case against the tour guide.
That’s a lame excuse because the criminal case against Celdran was actively pursued by the friars in the Manila Cathedral. Poor Celdran! He died of heart failure in 2019 while in exile in Spain.