Former Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Tagle has been mentioned by a London-based journal as one of the main possibilities to follow Pope Francis, despite speculations of his resignation owing to his physical condition.
Tagle was regarded a “papabile,” or a potential candidate to succeed Pope Francis, with Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdo. Both Tagle and Erdo reflect present issues in the direction and policies of the Catholic Church in the future. It went on to say that Tagle is usually regarded as a liberal, notably in his stance on LGBTQ issues and the representation of Catholics from underdeveloped nations, according to the publication.
Tagle is now serving at the Vatican. He is a personal friend of Pope Francis, who named him to head the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in 2019.
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Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has been cautious in issuing views on the story, stating that any bishop or priest is eligible to become the next Pope.
“May kasabihan diyan tungkol sa conclave and I quote ano…’anyone who enters the conclave a pope, exits it a cardinal.’ So meaning to say, kapag ikaw ay very popular na at kinikilalang kandidato bilang maging santo papa eh pagtatapos ng conclave, lalabas ka na cardinal ka pa rin dahil hindi ka nahalal. So it’s all up really to the voting members of the conclave,” said CBCP spokesperson Fr. Jerome Secillano.
