Vatican appoints 3 Pinoy bishops

Pope John Paul II has appointed three bishops to head the newly created dioceses of Cubao, Caloocan, and Pasig while at the same time accepted the resignation of Infanta Bishop Julio Labayen who will be replaced by Malolos Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona.

Balanga Bishop Honesto Ongtioco was appointed first bishop of Cubao, Iba Bishop Deogracias Iñiquez as first bishop of Caloocan, and San Pablo Bishop Francisco San Diego as first bishop of Pasig.

Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin made the announcement on the latest papal appointments during a Mass celebrated by Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Franco to mark the 25th year of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II.

President Arroyo led government officials in attending the Mass held at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart on Pasong Tamo street in Makati City.

Meanwhile, in a prepared statement, Franco said, "Let us acknowledge with gratitude the pastoral foresight and love of His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin for the people of God in Manila, and the great
service that His Excellency Bishop Julio Labayen O.C.D. has rendered with sacrifice and commitment for the building up of the Church in Infanta. Let us also assure our brother bishops of our fraternal and spiritual support to discharge their ministry faithfully and joyously in the new assignments."

Sin had asked the Pope to divide the Archdiocese of Manila because the "ecclesiastical area was too big, too extensive, too populous, and too complex for one archbishop to handle properly," a press statement said.

"The division will bring the Catholic hierarchy closer to the children of God," it said.

Because many of the clergy serving parishes in Infanta are from the Order of the Carmelites, the Pope transferred Tirona from Malolos to Infanta. Tirona and Labayen are both Carmelites.

There was no official date yet announced for the formal installation of the three new bishops of Cubao, Pasig and Caloocan.

Franco told reporters that the Archdiocese of Manila will continue supporting financially the newly created dioceses in the next five years.

He also said that the Archdiocese of Manila and the dioceses of Cubao, Pasig, Caloocan, Parañaque, and Novaliches will "try to coordinate pastoral work."

Despite its shrink in size, the new Archdiocese of Manila "remains the virtual leader in the whole of the Philippines" because of the tradition in Rome to put emphasis on the capital city of a particular country.

The new Manila Archdiocese is composed of parishes in Sta. Ana, Paco, Makati, and the city of Manila.

San Diego told reporters that they were notified of their new appointments yesterday morning.

With the papal appointments to the three newest dioceses announced, the focus of anticipation shifts to Pope John Paul’s choice to replace Sin who is retiring in August.

There were suggestions that the next bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila, the country’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, would likely be someone "less political" than the outspoken Sin who has had a strong voice in Philippine politics over the past two decades, local Catholic Church sources said.

However, others have speculated that a "healing bishop" will be appointed to succeed Sin because of pressing problems facing the Catholic Church such as allegations of sexual misdemeanors and the controversy surrounding the multimillion Internet venture that failed last year.

A debate among local Catholic Church leaders as to whether devotion to orthodoxy or managerial skills should be the crucial criterion in choosing the next Manila archbishop is going on.

The "temporalities" of the archdiocese are such that the next archbishop must be like Sin, a diocesan prelate who was named Archbishop of Manila after averting a financial scandal in the Diocese of Jaro, local Catholic Church sources have claimed.

The prevalent moral and social issues require that the next archbishop should be more devoted to Catholic Church orthodoxy, other have suggested.

Primary candidates as successor to Sin were believed to be Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi O.P., Lipa Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president and Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, Zamboanga Archbishop Carmelo Morelos and Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla.

Of the five candidates, only two come from religious orders, Legaspi (Dominican) and Quevedo (Oblate), while the rest are diocesan prelates.

In age, the youngest is Quevedo, 64, followed by Legaspi, 68; Capalla, 69; Rosales, 71; and Morelos, 73. Under Catholic canon law, prelates must retire from official duties at the age of 75.