New Cebu archbishop can become cardinal, too

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday said newly appointed Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma could also become a cardinal like his predecessor, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, CBCP Media Office director, said it is possible that the 60-year-old Palma, archbishop of Palo, Leyte, could be elevated to the College of Cardinals and if that happens, he would be the first cardinal to hold the position of CBCP vice president.

Last Friday, the Vatican announced that Palma would replace Vidal who is now 79 years old. The mandatory retirement age for priests is 75.

A date has yet to be set for Palma’s installation.

Palma said he is overwhelmed by the love of God and the trust of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. “Unworthy as I am, I accepted the appointment out of obedience,” he said.

Quitorio said that traditionally, whoever is appointed as Cebu archbishop becomes a cardinal.

“Usually, whoever is assigned there would become a cardinal. This started since the time of Cardinal Julio Rosales… sometime in the 1970s, and he was replaced by Cardinal Vidal. When Vidal was first assigned in Cebu, he was not a cardinal then; he was still an archbishop. Most likely, this would be the tradition and he (Palma) would be a cardinal just like in Manila,” said Quitorio.

It has also been part of tradition in the Catholic Church that whoever is appointed as head of the Archdiocese of Manila is bestowed the title of cardinal.

When then Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and appointed then Lipa Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales as his successor, it took the Vatican three years to elevate Rosales to the College of Cardinals.