CBCP spox urges no public push for Tagle as pope

An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged Filipino faithful to refrain from publicly promoting Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as the next pope following Pope Francis's death on Monday.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP - Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, emphasized that pushing for Tagle could imply external influence over the cardinal-electors who will decide the next pope during the upcoming conclave.

Secillano advised Filipinos to pray instead for a pope effective in governing the Church amid current issues it faces.

The Church currently has 135 cardinal-electors, including three Philippine cardinals: Cardinal Tagle, Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, and Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula.

Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Socrates Villegas shared his personal experiences of receiving encouragement from Pope Francis during the Duterte administration when he faced threats for opposing extrajudicial killings.