Pope Francis to priests: Learn to be humble

At the 888 Forum yesterday at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, we witnessed the oath taking ceremonies of the new officers of the Cebu News Workers Multipurpose Cooperative (Cebu Newscoop) the only newspaper workers cooperative in whole country. The Cebu Newscoop was a creation of the Cebu Newspaper Workers Foundation, Inc. (CENEWOF) for the purpose of helping our working journalists, something that we in Cebu should be proud to have.

Rep. Benhur Salimbangon inducted the new officers led by Elias Baquero as Chairman, Marlinda Tan as Vice Chairman with members, Oscar Pineda, Liv Campo, Joseph Tubilan, Luz Cuyos, Marilou Apalisok, Gregorio Rubio, Mariflor Perolina, Gabriel Malagar, and Frederick Languido, as well as Jujemay Awit as Secretary and Eileen Mangubat as Treasurer. Kudos to Newscoop!

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I read in the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news that Arch. Jose Palma only wanted a single term even if he was eligible for a second term. So during the Plenary Assembly at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center last week, Arch. Palma veered away from tradition and campaigned to his fellow bishops not to re-elect him for a second term so he could devote more time for his pastoral works in the Cebu Archdiocese. In my book, this is a very admirable trait for one who is already on top of his flock.

When he first assumed as Archbishop of Cebu, I told Arch. Palma that it was the will of God that he would not only be Archbishop of Cebu, but also CBCP President and he admitted that he never expected nor sought both positions. Indeed, there’s a lot of work to be done here in Cebu, especially for the preparation of the coming International Eucharistic Congress in the Year 2016 when Pope Francis is expected to come and visit Cebu.

Thankfully, the 90 active bishops respected Arch. Palma’s wishes, which is why the new CBCP President is Arch. Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan who was Arch. Palma’s Vice President. Already, certain pundits have tagged the Dagupan Archbishop as too “pro Cory” and therefore, loyal to the Aquino family.

While it is true that Arch. Villegas was the understudy of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, I’m sure that his loyalty is to God and not to a political family. In fact, he declared immediately that he would continue to fight against the RH Law in the Supreme Court and future laws like divorce in the months to come. This should send a warning to Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, III that if he certifies a proposed bill for divorce as urgent, he would come face to face against Arch. Villegas. So let’s not judge Arch. Villegas at this time as he would still assume as CBCP President come November.

Still about the Catholic Church, as headlined the other day, no less than Pope Francis issued a statement for all the shepherds of the Catholic Church to emulate him, when he himself shunned the luxury car prepared for him when he took the Red Hat and instead rode on an aide’s simple Volkswagen. Clearly this message was for all the Catholic Clergy to shun flashy cars and choose a more “humble” vehicle for their personal use.

This message from Pope Francis became viral in the social networks and one of those being targeted is our good friend, Mgsr. Achilles Dakay who won a BMW in that raffle to raise funds for San Pedro Calungsod. I got a lot of texts even from Manila-based columnists asking me to ask Msgr. Dakay if he will get rid of his BMW. Unfortunately, I don’t have Msgr. Dakay’s cellphone number, so allow me to ask him through this column… that poignant question whether he would sell his BMW and settle for a lesser vehicle. Pope Francis is teaching us a lesson on humility. 

If there is anything going on for Pope Francis, he practices what he preaches. I read that Pope Francis wanted to visit an island between North Africa and Italy, which was a waypoint for immigrants from Africa towards Europe and so he instructed his aides to secure a plane for that purpose. The next day, this trip came out of the Vatican press release and it was only then that Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone learned about the Pope’s trip. In the past, any Papal trip out of the Vatican walls would be the job of the Vatican Curia. Apparently, Pope Francis was sending a message to the curia that they can no longer control his movements. This alone is a refreshing move and it is hoped that the same thing would happen down to the archdiocese level.

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There seems to be a legal question regarding the Priority Assistance Development Fund (PADF) of former Rep. Pablo Garcia which was released in tranches under a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) which specifies exactly how the funds should be spent. It sort of got entangled with the suspension of then Gov. Gwen F. Garcia. But now that Pabling Garcia is no longer a congressman of the 2nd district, he requested that this monies be returned to the national coffers, in order to deny Rep. Willy Caminero access to these funds.

I had dinner with Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale the other night and she told me that this money now belonged to the Province of Cebu and therefore is under the control of Gov. Jun Jun Davide. Of course, I would like this monies kept here in Cebu. But then we must find out whether it should be returned to the national coffers. I guess this is a legal question that should be solved right away.

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