Quevedo’s appointment seen to boost peace in M’danao

MANILA, Philippines - The appointment of Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo as cardinal is expected to boost peace and order in Mindanao, Catholic leaders said yesterday.

Quevedo’s fellow bishops rejoiced over the Vatican’s announcement that he would soon be joining the College of Cardinals. They said his appointment would bring the plight of the marginalized people in Mindanao to the attention of Pope Francis.

Mindanao’s Catholic community was elated with the appointment of Quevedo who belongs to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) congregation.

The OMI, whose pontifical base is in Rome, has been operating religious and humanitarian missions and peace-building projects in Central Mindanao, as well as in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi since after World War II.

“This is an extra blessing for the OMI, which is now in its 75th year in the Philippines,” said Oblate missionary Eliseo Mercado, Jr., director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, which is involved in various peace-building programs in Mindanao.

The 74-year-old bishop, along with 18 others, will officially be appointed as cardinals on Feb. 22, bringing the members of the conclave to 122.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said Quevedo is known in the CBCP for his mental clarity, intellectual brilliance and passion for the formation of basic ecclesial communities.

“As a member of the College of Cardinals he will be able to assist the Pope in reaching out to the marginalized in Mindanao. A Cardinal from Mindanao is a papal tribute to the strength of the Catholic faith in that region of our country. It is a proof that the Catholic faith in Mindanao is now bearing rich fruits,” Villegas said.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said Quevedo’s appointment was a great blessing to the country and the whole of Asia.

“I thank Pope Francis for associating Archbishop Quevedo and the church in Mindanao to his Petrine ministry and solicitude for all the churches. We promise to pray for Archbishop Quevedo,” Tagle said.

At present, the country has three cardinals — Tagle, Manila Archbishop-emeritus Gaudencio Rosales and Cebu Archbishop-emeritus Ricardo Vidal.

– With John Unson, Eva Visperas