Anniversary Special: Cardinal Vidal
Dec 20, 2005
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, archbishop of Cebu, wields tremendous influence on the Cebuano community. Next year, as he celebrates his 75th birthday, he will also celebrate his ordination as a priest 50 years ago, his episcopacy 35 years ago and his 25th year in Cebu.
(Sun Star, December 15, 2005) Vidal, 74, was born in Mogpog, Marinduque. He held various positions as parish priest and seminary professor in Lucena until he was ordained bishop on Nov. 30, 1971. In 1973, He was appointed archbishop of Lipa.
Vidal’s first assignment in Cebu was as coadjutor archbishop in 1981. On Sept. 18, 1982, he was installed Cebu archbishop, after the death of Julio Cardinal Rosales. As bishop, Vidal is a member of various agencies in the Roman Curia, an administrative body that assists the Pope in governing the Church.
He has been responsible for the success and growth of the Archdiocese in spreading the gospel, strengthening the church, and helping the poor and the sick.
The prelate is soft-spoken but outspoken. He has been a staunch critic of proposals to legalize gambling and to manage the growth of the population through sterilization and contraception. He has slammed corruption in government as well as proposals to carve three provinces out of Cebu. His repeated condemnation of summary killings in Cebu City has made it clear that he believes human life is precious and that the murders are legally and morally indefensible.
But Vidal has also been conciliatory, calling for an end to hostilities between two rival fraternities, as well as between Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Rep. Eduardo Gullas over ownership of part of the South Reclamation Project.
The cardinal was named an adopted son of Cebu City in 1985 through a resolution by the late Cebu City mayor Ramon Duterte.
He is best remembered for his peacekeeping, helping mediate and resolve conflicts among groups and individuals, as well as for his advocacies for public good and against social ills.
You have made a lot of achievements as leader of the Catholic flock. What do you pick as the most important to the community and most personally gratifying return for your work?
Two things: the formation of future priests and the pastoral formation of the community. I have been a seminary formator for 16 years, and I would say these have been some of the most fulfilling years of my priestly life.
The formation of young men for the priesthood is a very delicate and vital work in the Church. The future of the Church depends so much on the kind of young men who are aspiring to be priests. Everything, of course, depends on God’s grace, but one also needs to be open to the promptings of the Spirit to be able to discern carefully the vocation of a seminarian and the way he can be guided towards responding in a mature and responsible manner.
Likewise, the pastoral formation of the community is very important, and I consider it complementary to my work in the seminary.
My first hands-on experience as a parish priest was when I came to Cebu and I was assigned by the late Cardinal Rosales to be the parish priest of the Cathedral. In a way, it was my first parish experience. Guiding the people to realize their innate potential and directing it to the service of God and fellow human beings gave me a sense of how much the people truly thirst for the presence of the Lord.
In the seminary, you have young men trying to understand themselves and searching for answers to life’s greatest questions, but in the parish, you have men and women just trying to get by with their lives, struggling daily for survival. No life-changing questions, just the need to get by on a meager day’s income.
What do you see as the major strengths of Cebu as a community and Cebuanos as a people? What are the weaknesses, if any?
Cebuanos are hardworking, thrifty but also very devout. Their devotion to the Santo Niño is truly inspiring. Every time I join the procession of the Santo Niño, I always see in the eyes of the devotees that profound trust in the Lord who is tangible and visible to them in the image of the Santo Niño.
Cebu would have progressed more if its leaders had been more united and more coordinated in the effort to promote the common good. As it is, the success of Cebu has also engendered rivalries among its leaders.
If you are to make a wish list for Cebu and its leaders, what will top the list?
Unity and cooperation to attain the common good. If only all of them will focus on the common good, I think Cebu can achieve much more and its people can benefit fully from the fruits of development.
At times, you despair over the apparent apathy of people when they do not heed your call. For example, on the issue of summary killings, there has not been enough public outrage over the murders. Have people lost their value for human life? How can the community, including the Church, restore that value?
It makes me very sad because it is a sign of a split-level faith. On one hand, we profess to believe in God but on the other hand, we pay lip service to His commandments.
The apathy is rooted in the sinful attitude that as long as it does not disturb me, I really don’t care. This is the root, by the way, of all our problems—from corruption to crime, from poverty to moral degradation.
The loss of the sense of community can only lead to the disintegration of our identity as a people. People value human life only when it is their life or that of someone dear to them. Otherwise, they couldn’t care less.
The community must recover its collective conscience by recognizing that what happens to one also happens to all. The sense of community will make us aware of every member’s value within the community.
The Church has been trying to establish Basic Ecclesial Communities in the grassroots level in order to recover this sense of community among the people. Apparently, our efforts need to be refocused on the ideal of solidarity.
Your most memorable moments as a priest and as a bishop? What bring you most joy nowadays?
As a priest, after ordination, in my private mass, when I pronounced the words of “consecration.”
As a bishop, it has to be my experience during the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.
What brings me most joy nowadays is the celebration of the Eucharist in the parishes, together with the parishioners and their parish priest.
How do you see the Catholic Church in the next decade? The Cebu community and its people?
I am not a prophet, but based on the present trend, I hope the Church will become more responsive to the needs of the poor and focus more on the formation of our people in the maturation of their faith.
Cebu will probably progress more, although I hope no one will be left out in this march towards the future and the environment will be properly protected. I pray that the people of Cebu will learn to live their faith more fully by being more responsive to the needs of the marginalized sectors of our society.
Anniversary Special: Cardinal Vidal