Filipino cardinals back from Vatican

MANILA, Philippines - The three Filipino cardinals who went to Rome to attend the papal conclave which elected Pope Francis arrived on Thursday in Manila.

Manila Archbishop Luis Cardinal Tagle, retired Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, and Cebu Archbishop emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal arrived past 10 a.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on board a Cathay Pacific flight.

The three cardinals stayed in Rome for a week to attend the conclave. Of the three, only Tagle participated in the voting of the new Pope.

In a media briefing,  Rosales said that although he and  Vidal were not part of the conclave, they supported the installation of Pople Francis, praying for divine guidance to those who selected the new head of the Catholic Church.

Tagle, who  was said to have been one of the leading contenders for the papacy, said there was no pressure or influence peddling to vote for a certain candidate coming from a particular region.

He said all of the cardinals who took part of the conclave had vowed to remain silent regarding on how the voting went.