Manila archdiocese has new archbishop

Manila: The countrys' political centre has a new archbishop, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) announced.

The CBCP said Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, prelate of the archdiocese of Imus and southern Tagalog region, had been appointed by the Vatican as the next head of Manila's Catholic Church.

"The selection is a tedious process which include among other things the secret scrutiny made on the bishops, religious and lay people regarding his personal spirituality, his capacity to lead this prestigious archdiocese in the Philippines," Bishop Nereo Odchimar of the diocese of Tandag in southern Philippines Surigao del Sur, said.

He added that Tagle's appointment means that he is the most qualified to hold what church observers described as a "powerful position" in the Catholic Church.

Tagle is reputed to have close ties to the Vatican, the spiritual as well as political centre of the Roman Catholic Church.

According to the CBCP, the 54-year old Tagle served as member of the International Theological Commission while it was still chaired by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who will later be known as Pope Benedict XVI.

This only means, Odchimar said, that the archbishop-elect's "face and voice are familiar in the Vatican.

Recognised figure

Tagle, he said, is not only a deeply religious man but also recognised figure not just in the Philippines but also internationally as a theologian and as a speaker.

"He is a blessing to us Filipinos because we Catholics in the Philippines look to this prime archdiocese also for leadership," said Odchimar.

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday evening appointed Tagle as the 32nd archbishop of Manila, replacing retired Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales who served the post for eight years.

Rosales said he would live in a retirement home for priests in his native Lipa City south of Manila, where he also served as archbishop from 1992 to 2003 and plans to write more books.

Although there are several diocese spread throughout the Philippines, it is still the archdiocese in the national capital, Manila, which exercise strong influence over the all the other Catholic divisions in the country.

The Philippines is a country of an estimated 90 million and majority of Filipinos have been born into Catholicism.

Tagle will be coming in as the new head of the influential Manila diocese at at time when Asia's Catholic stronghold is being shaken at its foundations by increasing liberalism.

Currently, President Benigno Aquino III is at loggerheads with the conservative blocs within the Catholic Church over the subject of birth control and the issue of population management.

Tagle, in a statement said: "I face this heavy responsibility with much trepidation…I know that I would find much good will and zeal for my mission in the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Manila."