PHILIPPINES
ABC News
By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press
IMUS, Philippines March 7, 2013 (AP)
Asia’s most prominent Roman Catholic leader knows how to reach the masses: He sings on stage, preaches on TV, brings churchgoers to laughter and tears with his homilies. And he’s on Facebook.
But Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s best response against the tide of secularism, clergy sex abuse scandals and rival-faith competition could be his reputation for humility. His compassion for the poor and unassuming ways have impressed followers in his homeland, Asia’s largest Catholic nation, and church leaders in the Vatican.
Tagle’s rising star has opened a previously unimaginable possibility: An Asian pope.
The Filipino prelate’s chances are considered remote, as many believe that Latin America or Africa — with their faster growing Catholic flocks — would be more logical choices if the papal electors look beyond Europe. But even the hint of papal consideration has electrified many in the heavily Catholic Philippines, where past pontiffs had been welcomed by millions with rock-star intensity.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: As the Roman Catholic Church prepares to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, The Associated Press is profiling key cardinals seen as “papabili” — contenders to the throne. In the secretive world of the Vatican, there is no way to know who is in the running, and history has yielded plenty of surprises. But these are the names that have come up time and again in speculation. Today: Luis Antonio Tagle.
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“It’ll bring such immense glory to us and our country,” said Leo Matias, one of several waiters at a Chinese restaurant in Manila’s suburban Quezon city who served dinner to Pope John Paul II when he visited in 1995.
The restaurant has displayed the set of spoon, fork, table napkin, water goblet and knives — still unwashed after the pope’s meal of grilled fish and fried shrimp.
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