A Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) official on Thursday urged Filipino Catholics to avoid publicly pushing for Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to become the next pope.
This comes amid international reports naming Tagle as a potential successor to Pope Francis, who died on Monday at age 88. Reuters noted that the Filipino cardinal shares Pope Francis’ commitment to social justice and has both pastoral and administrative experience.
“Huwag naman sana natin na publicly i-post ‘yung pangalan ni Cardinal Tagle kasi unang-una, hindi niya rin naman gugustuhin ’yan,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Permanent Committee on Public Affairs, in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.
“Pangalawa, kahit na anong pagpupush natin, wala rin naman tayo magagawa kasi ang magdedecide naman niyan yung mga cardinal electors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” he added.
Instead, he encouraged Filipinos to pray that the next pope will effectively lead the Catholic Church through its challenges.
“Kung sino yung mas magiging effective din sa pamamalakad at pamumuno, sana ibigay ’yan ng Diyos sa atin,” Secillano said.
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis died due to a stroke and irreversible heart failure, following a weeks-long hospitalization from double pneumonia. His funeral will be held on Saturday at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Following the funeral, cardinal electors will convene in the Sistine Chapel, where they will be completely secluded until a new pope is elected. The announcement will be signaled by the appearance of white smoke (fumata bianca) from the chapel’s chimney.
