Good news: A new cardinal

Saturday, February 25, has been declared a non-working holiday by the President. It will not only allow Filipinos, especially in Manila, to observe the historic day, it will also encourage them to go out of town or stay at home so there will be less people on the streets, or at any place where the protest marchers will be. Yes, a holiday is the best remedy for problems that protests may create. Hadn't it worked before?

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In the midst of all the bad news, the tragedies and the conflicts we are experiencing, an inspiring one comes with the announcement by the Papal Nuncio that our own prelate, Archbishop Caddencio Rosales of Manila, has been appointed as cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI. The admission of Archbishop Rosales into the college of red-hatted prelates is very timely. The popular Cardinal Jaime Sin has already died, and Cardinal Ricardo Vidal has retired. Our other Cardinal, Jose Sanchez is based in the Vatican.

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But there is also another piece of saddening news for the Church. The Vatican has also confirmed the death of Bishop Paul Marcinkus, once a very influential figure in Rome, who was at the height of his power during the early days of the late Pope John Paul II. Many Filipinos, Bacoleños and Negrenses among them, will surely remember Bishop Marcinkus. He came to Bacolod with the beloved Pope John Paul II, and was a very fearsome character, very strict and overpowering, also somewhat overprotective of the Holy Father. We had a name for him, "The Bulldog".

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But Marcinkus was no match for our own beloved prelate then, Bishop Antonio Fortich. Despite Marcinkus's objections, Bishop Fortich was able to convince the Vatican that there was a strong need for the Pope to come to Negros, and he did. While in Bacolod, Marcinkus again did not want the Holy Father to include the blessing of the memorial plaque for the victims of the sinking of the Don Juan in the rites held at the cathedral. But before Marcinkus could intervene, the innocent-looking Fortich had already steered the Pope towards the memorial which he prayed over and blessed. I can tell this with authority - I was right there.

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Some people are asking why it took the President so long - almost five days - before she found time to go to the site in Southern Leyte that had been devastated by a landslide that also buried a still undetermined number of people, mostly very young schoolchildren. Well, she had other matters to tend to, like the gathering of foreign correspondents to which she had very important statements to give.

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And sure enough, more and more comments are coming out in reaction to that bold statement of hers that she is the best person to lead this country during the transition period that she hopes to come. Former President Fidel Ramos reportedly quipped "that is only her opinion"; Rep. Francis Escudero called it "delusional" and "too unpresidential", while Rep. Satur Ocampo said she is echoing the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos who called himself "a great president" and "the savior of the country."

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Swift to defend their boss were Speaker Jose de Venecia (who would have been GMA's boss if he had been lucky in that 1998 election) who told the media that GMA has reason and basis for making the statements, and former general and now executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, who placatingly said, she did not mean it the way it sounded. Only, he said, since she is the current leader, she is in the best position to lead the country. Controversial Bishop Oscar Cruz, for once, was at a loss for words and could only utter "God have mercy on us!"

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Meanwhile, a clever move from GMA is the announcement that she is going to work for the abolition of the death penalty. Now, that is something the bleeding hearts have always agitated for, so they might change their views about her. Perhaps even the bishops who have been sounding different lately, will also change their minds. Anyway, the lethal injection method is quite questionable - a condemned man in California could not even be executed because no doctor or nurse would agree to be the one to administer it. But if the courts cannot punish the culprits, the kin of the victims might do it their way instead.*

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