Pope names Lucena bishop

Pope John Paul II has appointed Bishop Emilio Marquez of Gumaca as coadjutor bishop of Lucena City in Quezon Province.

Fr. James Reuter, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Social Communications (ECSC), explained that a coadjutor bishop is different from an auxiliary bishop.

He said an auxiliary bishop has no right of succession as bishop of the diocese. But if the bishop of a diocese retires, and has a coadjutor bishop, the coadjutor becomes the line bishop, automatically, he said.

Marquez’s appointment was made after the Pope accepted the request of Bishop Ruben Profugo, bishop of Lucena, for a coadjutor bishop, said Reuter.

Marquez was also the bishop of Gumaca, and will remain as the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Gumaca until the Pope names a new bishop of the diocese, the National Office of Mass Media said in a statement.– Sandy Araneta