Mags GarganMags Gargan meets the Filipino cardinal tipped to be the next Pontiff
Dubbed the “Asian Francis” for his similarities in outlook and character to the Pope, Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle is as warm and charismatic in person as his reputation would lead you to believe.
The Filipino cardinal was visiting Ireland last week to conduct the clergy retreat for the Diocese of Meath. He also celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar for members of the Filipino community and paid a short visit to Dalgan Park, Navan which is the home of the Irish Columban missionaries, many of whom have served in the Philippines. He visited the College Chapel and took a particular interest in the photos of Columbans who met violent deaths. Cardinal Tagle, known as ‘Chito’, said the highlight of the visit for him was meeting Fr Conal O’Connell, who he had known as a young man in the Philippines.
“I come from the province of Cavite, the Diocese of Imus and in that diocese the Columbans used to administer in one of the oldest parishes in the country,” the cardinal explains. “When I was a student I studied under some Belgium missionaries, the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and they had a Student Catholic Action Programme and our spiritual director was Fr Conal. I was 13 at the time and what a surprise that I saw him here again!”
Opportunity
The cardinal was glad of the opportunity to thank the Irish missionaries in person for their incredible work for the poor and the marginalised, and the positive legacy that they have left in the Philippines.
“The work of the Columbans in the Philippines, even when I was growing up, was centred on the Southern part of the country, where you also have some Muslim communities and the poorest people in the Philippines. In the Manila area and other parts of the North the Columbans took mission places that were quite difficult.
“They were always caring pastorally for the poor and the indigenous ethic communities, and these are the images of the Irish missionary that we have – dedicated, immersed in the realities of the poor and the neglected and willing to suffer. Some of them have been kidnapped and some of them died violent deaths, so we are very blessed to have the witness of the Irish missionaries,” he says. “I hope they could be the Good News, the Gospel proclaimed here too.”
With more than 75 million faithful, the Philippines has the third largest Catholic population in the world, but also one of the poorest population with almost 30% living with a yearly income of €360 or less.
The sprightly 58-year-old was appointed Archbishop of Manila in 2011 and then cardinal in 2012 by Benedict XVI. There are many similarities between him and Pope Francis. He was previously Bishop of Imus, his small home diocese, where he had a focus on youth and gave weekly video broadcasts on the liturgical readings on the internet. He was famous for travelling by public transport and being very concerned with the poor. As a priest he worked for many years teaching theology and heading up the local seminary, he also became renowned as a speaker and a retreat leader.
The cardinal was last in Ireland to speak at the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 2012 when he addressed the issue of child abuse. The Philippines hosted this year’s congress in Cebu and the cardinal’s catechesis session on ‘The Eucharist and culture” was one of the highlights. He also hosted a very successful papal visit to the Philippines last year, which drew 6-7 million people to the final Mass.
A year into being voted by a large majority as head of Caritas Internationalis, a network of Catholic relief agencies, Cardinal Tagle attended the annual Trócaire lecture in Maynooth last week, which was given by Peter Sutherland, the UN Special Representative for International Migration. The cardinal says the migrant crisis and the treatment of refugees is one of the main challenges facing Caritas and other international development agencies.
“I’m new as president of Caritas but these past months we have seen the displacement of peoples due to various causes that may be conflicts, ethic, political, even religious persecution and due to natural disasters. I think around 60 million people in the world right now are displaced by these conflicts.
“At Caritas, with the help of other organisations, both faith-based and non-faith-based, we are trying to address the emergency situation. Caritas helps address the emergency needs but we also realise that people cannot exist in a perpetual emergency or humanitarian existence and so there is a side of Caritas, in solidarity with many Churches and ecumenical groups, that engages in advocacy.
“In the name of the survivors and victims of all of these displacements, we are asking the international community, especially the political community, to address the roots of this displacement. We are worried that because there is an outpouring of solidarity in terms of humanitarian response that the politicians might think that they can delay addressing the political causes. That is part of the advocacy of Caritas as we bring in humanitarian relief, we try to engage the governments too, in a friendly way, to address the roots of the conflict.”
Pope Francis has warned that the Church must not become just a “compassionate NGO” and Cardinal Tagle feels that as a faith-based organisation Caritas does bring something different to humanitarian work, but it “might not be visible to the naked eye”.
Immersed
“Now that I am more immersed in Caritas’ work I can openly declare firstly that Caritas and the other faith-based groups are not only concerned with giving food, clothing and shelter – that’s paramount – but it is faith-based groups like Caritas that also give priority to psychological, emotional and social first aid. So taking care of the interior life as it were. Helping heal traumas. Helping people to find some meaning and hope again to survive. Although they do not do it in an explicitly religious manner, if some of the survivors were to ask for explicit guidance in the Faith, then Caritas is able to provide that,” he says.
“The second thing I notice is that the pastoral workers, the Caritas volunteers, most of them are Christian and maybe the reason they got involved in Caritas is because of their church life and faith life.
“Their work is not easy. They are there when the disaster strikes and they remain even after some of the international agencies have gone. I really admire them – how they are able to keep their sanity and their sense of humour. Yes, there is human strength but when we talk with them, many draw their strength from their faith also. They may not talk openly about it but it gives them strength.”
Cardinal Tagle also points out that in some countries where Caritas works the Church is not permitted to take part in open and active evangelisation and “it is the work of Caritas and faith-based groups that becomes the proclamation of the Gospel, but through action”.
“I come from Asia where religious liberty is not always respected by some governments, that type of work is the witness,” he says. “As Pope Francis reminded us social service can be done by other groups, but the motivation for us is different. For us the motivation is that everyone deserves to be loved. Everyone is the presence of God. Everyone has the dignity of a child of God.”
Many commentators list Cardinal Tagle as a favourite among the ‘papabile’ or ‘possible Popes’ and he is certainly seen as a successor who would continue the work of Pope Francis. “Building a poor Church for the poor” has become a motto of the Francis pontificate and as president of Caritas the Filipino cardinal has become the face of the Church’s outreach to the most vulnerable and marginalised, already visiting many disaster zones and speaking to refugees first hand about their experiences.
Seasoned Vatican watcher, John L. Allen has described Cardinal Tagle as “the Pope’s most important ally in Asia” and says that he will be “a force in Catholicism for a long time”.
He certainly shares the approach and vision of the first Pope from the ‘New ‘World’ and he has a very friendly relationship with Francis, who he describes as transforming the papacy by just being himself.
“I knew Pope Francis when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires and before I became Archbishop of Manila,” he says.” We worked together for three years and he has not changed a bit.
“So when people say he is revolutionising the papacy I think, oh if you had known him before it is the same Bergoglio you see. But he brings who he is to the papacy and I think that this has made the difference without him meaning to. By just being himself – a more down to earth way of speaking and talking about deep truths. Being a regular guy.
“I think God sent us somebody like him so that the papacy would become closer to people at a time when in many part of the world people are distancing themselves from the Church. Some are saying the language of the Church is quite incomprehensible, so the human face of the papacy, the ordinariness, yes that is the reason why Francis is respected and has regained some authority. The more human he has become, the more exalted he has become.”