The Philippines’ newest cardinal shares his conclave criteria

 

Madrid, Spain, Jan 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

“Holy Father, you have changed my life again! Shouldn’t you have at least given me advance notice?”

With these words the newly created Philippine Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David y Siongco addressed Pope Francis after finding out that his name appeared among the new cardinals on the list for the last consistory held in Rome.

Almost a decade after having named him the bishop of Kalookan in the Philippines, Pope Francis elevated him to the cardinalate at the age of 65 on Dec. 7, 2024.

“Oh, don’t give it any importance, take it with a touch of divine humor,” the Holy Father replied with a smile. The new cardinal shared the pope’s piece of advice with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner — advice that managed to calm him down and fill him with peace.

From the city of Kalookan, located near Manila Bay, David, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, recalled with gratitude the ceremony in which he received the red biretta.

The fifth cardinal of the Philippines, who earned a doctorate summa cum laude in sacred theology from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, spoke about the Masses of thanksgiving that he was able to celebrate later in a “Christmas atmosphere” and recalled in particular the words of the pope in his homily.

“It was a good continuation of what he told us in his letter, urging us to become more familiar with ‘diakonia’ [service] than with the title of ‘eminence,’” said the cardinal, who was recently appointed a member of the Synodal Council and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

David, who studied at the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, is considered one of the leading experts on the Bible in his country. Speaking with ACI Prensa, he shared that his episcopal coat of arms bears the word “kenosis,” which refers “to the spirituality of emptying oneself mentioned in Philippians 2:1-11.”

What would he take into account when voting in a conclave?

The title of cardinal, among other things, gives one the possibility of voting for the next successor of St. Peter in a future conclave.

In this context, David said he would choose a candidate “who is deeply spiritual and pastoral in his leadership style, who represents a vibrant local Church, especially in the global south, who knows the holy Scriptures well, who is rooted in the genuine apostolic tradition, and who represents the radical, compassionate, and revolutionary orientation of Jesus of Nazareth.”

“Someone sensitive to the signs of the times, open to renewal in the sense of what the Second Vatican Council called ‘aggiornamento,’ [updating] but at the same time grounded in the authentic sources of the Christian faith, open to a more synodal model of the Church, to working together with civil society and all people of goodwill, to ecumenism and interreligious and intercultural dialogue,” he emphasized.

Popular piety and the faith of the Filipino people

The parishes and mission centers of his diocese are made up of “poor urban communities, inhabitants of slums and makeshift settlements,” he explained.

“We have very small parish churches where Mass must be celebrated four to 10 times on Sundays in order to accommodate even 20%-30% of our practicing Catholics,” the cardinal noted.

Although the majority of those living in the slums consider themselves Catholics, he pointed out that many of them do not attend church regularly and that their faith “is kept alive by popular expressions of religiosity and devotion, such as the Black Nazarene, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, or the Child Jesus.”

“Popular devotion and piety is a very characteristic feature of the faith of the Filipino people. Most of our Catholics, especially among the poorest, are spiritually sustained by popular devotions,” he said.

The prelate also emphasized that the current pastoral priority is to focus their parishes on being in “missionary mode” to reach those who are “on the margins of society.” Thus they have associated themselves with missionary religious congregations that serve “the poorest of the poor.”

“We have made it clear that if the poor do not come to the Church, it is the Church that must go to them,” he added.

‘Smugglers of the faith’

David commented that Europe and the West can learn from the faith of the Filipino people, in particular from the “strong family ties, our sense of solidarity expressed in ‘bayanihan’ [a cultural tradition that emphasizes the spirit of solidarity in a community], and our sense of grace and divine providence.”

“Since 10% to 12% of our population is made up of Filipinos working overseas, either as migrants or itinerants, many of them develop a sense of mission while they are away. Pope Francis even jokingly refers to them as ‘smugglers of the faith,’” the cardinal commented.

Challenges of the Church in the Philippines

Drawing from his experience as president of the Philippine Bishops’ Conference, the cardinal pointed out the challenges facing the Catholic Church in his country.

“The most serious of these are the climate crisis caused by environmental abuse, the rise of patronage politics and populism that continues to aggravate poverty, inequality, and the culture of violence in Philippine society,” he noted.

The cardinal also pointed to “massive misinformation and manipulation through artificial intelligence on social media and other digital platforms, demographic changes due to mass migration, both local and foreign,” the rise of serious mental health problems, and “various forms of addiction in our communities, due to the difficulties in coping with an increasingly stressful life.”

Faced with this reality, he proposed that the Church adopt “a positive role in society as a bridge-builder between the various institutions” as well as proactively participate “in promoting social change and contributing to the building of the nation.”

He urged that the Church’s contribution to education be “taken more seriously” and that it have “a more active presence in the digital world, combating misinformation and seriously introducing ethical and spiritual norms on social media, empowering the poor for active participation in society through our grassroots ecclesial communities and our popular religious practices.”

An appeal to political leaders

The cardinal observed that it’s “a shame” that the Philippines is a predominantly Christian country and, at the same time, “is known as a very poor and corrupt society.”

“I make a special appeal to Catholics among us who take their faith seriously, to give life and form to the Gospel and the social doctrine of the Church in their style of leadership, truly promoting human dignity and the common good, to take seriously the vocation of combating the leaven of corruption in society, and to serve as the salt and light of the world.”

Transmitting the faith in the family environment

To better guarantee the mature transmission of the Christian faith and spirituality to the new generations, David proposed that “synodal practices of conversations in the Spirit and community discernment be adopted in the family environment.”

“I received the faith from my family, more through storytelling than through indoctrination, pietism, and moralism,” he commented.

‘Coffee with Jesus’ and taking a walk with ‘Mother Mary’

The cardinal shared that his daily prayer time includes what he calls “coffee with Jesus,” any time between 5 and 8 in the morning, “and my ‘walk with Mother Mary’ after dinner while I pray the rosary.”

“Prayer is my most important survival mechanism,” the cardinal emphasized, since it enables him to “overcome my ego and enter into what the Jesuits call spiritual detachment or positive indifference.”

Finally, in times of difficulty, he said he gains “much strength and courage from what Paul says in Romans 8:38-39: ‘Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.’”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.