Vidal awaits word on successor

CEBU, Philippines - “I am happy to work here, I am waiting for the Holy Father’s word…waiting for that, until then I work,” Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal answered when asked about his plan during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of his elevation to the Cardinalate yesterday.

The archbishop, 79, recalled that when he was told he will be transferred to Cebu before he became Cardinal he had jitters.

 “When I was first informed that I would be transferred from Lipa to Cebu, I had trepidations over the language barrier, the difference in temperament and culture, that awesome responsibility of following after the footsteps of then Julio Cardinal Rosales,” Vidal reminisced.

However, Cardinal Vidal shared that those fears faded away when he began to feel the love of the Cebuanos.

“They may not always be affectionate because they can be very straightforward. But when they like you, they like you. If they don’t, you’ll have to like them anyway, because for all their industry and frugality, they are really generous and kind,” he said.

“I hope that they will still want me, I am happy to work here,” Vidal said.

In his message Vidal also thanked the Lord for twenty-five long years of service as a Cardinal.

 “I thank Him too for bringing me to this place, fittingly named after the Most Holy Name of Jesus, with its rich culture steeped in tradition and history, settled by a people whose industry is rivaled only by the steadfastness of their faith.”

 More than 50 archbishops and bishops from all over the country, Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines Edward Joseph Adams, priests, and prominent political figures both local and national attended the Solemn Pontifical Mass.

“I thank you all my dear colleagues, the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church in the Philippines, and the Universal Church as represented by our beloved Nuncio. Thank you too my dear friends from outside Cebu. Your presence here honors not only me but the People of Cebu,” the Cardinal said.

Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales of Manila who delivered the Homily said that Vidal has invariably made himself available to Jesus, and his heart was always for God and His Son Jesus at any phase of his priestly and Episcopal ministry. 

“Completely given to the Lord, that was Ricardo J. Vidal, even when the Lord was seemingly nowhere near,” Rosales said.

At the age of fifty-four, and as Archbishop of Cebu, Vidal became the fourth Filipino Cardinal from among the Hierarchy of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Cardinal Vidal was elevated to the Cardinalate on May 25, 1985 in Rome from the late Pope John Paul II, during a Consistory or gathering of the College of Cardinal of the Catholic Church, thus making him the fourth Filipino cleric to be given such a high ecclesiastical title.

It was Rufino Cardinal Santos of Manila who became the first Filipino cardinal, followed by Julio R. Cardinal Rosales, the direct predecessor of Vidal as Archbishop of Cebu. Jaime Cardinal Sin, Santos’ successor in Manila, was the third Filipino to wear the red hat.

After Vidal, two other Filipinos became cardinals also, namely, Jose Cardinal Sanchez who was appointed to a top Vatican office but has since retired, and the current Manila Archbishop, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales.

Of the 28 cardinals were created during the 1985 Consistory, Vidal remains the only one active in his pastoral ministry, after Pope Benedict XVI extended his term as Archbishop of Cebu in 2006. As required by Church law, a cardinal tenders his resignation at the age of 75.

National and local officials present during the celebration were former First Lady and congresswoman-elect Imelda Marcos, former Senator Kit Tatad and his wife, incumbent Mayor and South District congressman-elect Tomas Osmeña and wife councilor-elect Margot Osmeña, incoming Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and some local government employees.

Imelda led the delegation to Rome when Cardinal Vidal received his Cardinalate.

 “I will never forget the Cardinal flew hundred of miles in Hawaii to give the last rite to former President Marcos…he escorted him to heaven,” Imelda also said. 

A 200-page book entitled “Via Veritatis” (The Way of Truth) about life and ministry of Vidal was also launched yesterday.

“I looked at the thickness of the volume and I thought to myself, have I really lived this long?  When I scanned through the pages, I was relieved because there were more pictures than text.  At least I was more photogenic in the pictures, than intelligible in the text,” Vidal said jokingly.

“This is for fund raising purposes, and the money will be donated to the Pope John Paul II retirement home for the Clergy of the Archdiocese of Cebu,” said the writer, Professor Jose Eleazar Reynes Bersales.

Fr. Ting Ancajas is the project director of the book that was started last March.

“If you care to read my life, don’t be surprised that they have written well of me.  That is only because I am still alive to read it. 

They wouldn’t dare to write nasty things about me.  They know my heart is not that strong anymore.  How would it sound for the writers if my epitaph would read: He died reading his biography”? Vidal said.

Vidal also thanked Elivar Go and her creative team for producing a film on his life.

“Direk Louie Ignacio has done a great job trying to make my life more exciting than it actually was. Magandang pagkagawa direk, kaya lang hindi yata kikita sa takilya.  Wala kasing barilan, walang suntukan, ni wala man lang halikan,” Vidal joked again. —/BRP (THE FREEMAN)