“Holiness is not just for priests and the consecrated ones alone,” said visiting Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle during a special community reception for him at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Kingsgrove, NSW , adding that holiness is a call to the faithful’s moral and spiritual discipline whether in the circle of the family or out in the community earning a living such as a taxi driver, another profession, a migrant or OFW, a politician, or a leader of community.The Cardinal later on celebrated the Eucharist (mass) at the Lady of Fatima parish church.
The Philippines’s seventh cardinal and the first ever to be a member of Vatican’s bishop synod that elected the pope His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, popularly called by the press as the Smiling Cardinal celebrated Catholic mass on a number of occasions, met the Filipino community in a press conference, and made a call towards holiness among the people and the faithful in a parish reception, during his three-day visit in Sydney.
Philippine Ambassador Belen Anota was among those who welcomed the cardinal.
Cardinal Tagle’s very first public act was to celebrate mass or the Eucharist on the evening of Friday August 1 at the St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.
Filipino Catholic faithful were in drove in getting an eye on Cardinal Tagle as they joined the celebration of the Eucharist or mass on three separate occasions, before Cardinal Tagle who is officially the primate or head of Philippine Catholic hierarchy left for Melbourne. Cardinal Tagle also met the Filipino community in another celebration of the Eucharist at Marist College in Parramatta on August 3.
Cardinal Tagle was scheduled to be conferred a Honorary Degree I Theology at Australian Catholic Unversity, in betweem more public appearance in Victoria.
In a special folksy manner reminiscent of the style of now popular Catholic Pope Francis of Vatican, Cardinal Tagle also reminded reporters during a mini conference at the ground of our Lady of Fatima Church at Kingsgrove about the real issues behind a number of “hot topics” in Manila including corruption in public office, poverty and rising population, and marriage and the clergy.
Cardinal Tagle enthralled the congregation of the Our Lady of Fatima in Kingsgrove, NSW with his witty anecdotes and down-to-earth testimony, highlighting his address with and enlightening call to holiness lifestyle among everyone, explaining love of God and sincere life’s testimony is not only for the consecrated or ordained few, but for everyone desiring to make a testimony about Christ.
In addition to a call towards ‘imitation of Christ”. Cardinal Tagle said there is a call among the faithful for what he called as “solidarity with the weak.” He said there’s a growing trend for cities of the world with majority of migrant population, under a number of pressures from modern life.
Cardinal Tagle said because of this mobility of world population, there is an ever increasing call for Christian families to be aware about tensions among population, specifically on such issues as respect in marriage, raising children, and many social obligations in fast changing societies.
In an earlier press conference at Kingsgrove, Cardinal Tagle said governments have to look closely into the overall causes of poverty, and not relying mainly on government’s view of large families as a main cause of the problem. He also refuted the allegation that the Catholic church exercises a very strong power in Philippine society. Asked about corrupt politicians in the Philippines, he said .”Why, are there no corrupt politicians in Australia?
Philippine Ambassador to the Philippines Belen Anota welcomed the cardinal and highlighted the Christian duty of every Filipino to register and vote including the coming election on 2016.
Cardinal Tagle also received an Australian tree seedling which was subsequently planted on the church ground, in memory for the cardinal’s visit.