Cardinal Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle is in most Vaticanist lists among the prices to succeed Pope Francis.
Specialists heard by CNN They punctuate the history of social commitment of the Archbishop Emeritus of Manila, which was nicknamed “The Asian Francisco” because of his relationship with the poor.
If elected, Tagle would be the first Pope in Asia.
The “Crux” website, which specializes in coverage of the Catholic and Vatican Church, published an articlein which Cardinal Tagle described as “a moderate oriented to social justice, which is better known for his defense of immigrants and the poor, and whose personal life style speaks of modesty and simplicity.”
A source told CNN that tagle “is a strong candidate”. “It has a history of social commitment and comes from the East, where the church is usually more traditionalist than in Europe. It could make a bridge easier with the conservatives and would show an increase in the internationalization of the church,” he said.
On paper, the Philippine, which usually prefers to be called by the nickname “Chito”, seems to have all the requirements to be a Pope.
He has had decades of pastoral experience since his priestly ordination in 1982. Then he acquired administrative experience, first as Bishop of the Filipine City of Imbus and later as Archbishop of Manila, the capital of the country.
Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed him Cardinal in 2012.
In an action seen by some as a Francisco strategy to give Tagle some experience in the Vatican, the Pope transferred him from Manila in 2019 and appointed him head of the Church’s missionary arm, formally known as the dicker for evangelization.
It comes from what some call the “Catholic lung of Asia”, as the Philippines have the largest Catholic population in the region. His mother was a Chinese Filipine. He speaks Italian and English fluently.
Between 2015 and 2022, he was the main leader of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of over 160 Catholic assistance, social service and development organizations around the world.
In 2022, Pope Francis fired all the leadership of Caritas after accusations of intimidation and humiliation of employees and appointed a commissioner to manage it. Tagle, who was also deprived of office, was a nominal president, but was not involved in everyday operations, which were supervised by a lay director-general.
By announcing Pope’s dramatic decision, Tagle said at a Caritas meeting that the changes were a time to “face our failures.” It remains to know how the saga will impact the chances of Tagle on the papacy.
This content was originally published in Meet Luis Antonio Tagle, the “Francisco Asia” quoted as next Pope on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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