Palace congratulates Tagle for promotion to cardinal-bishop

Malacañang on Monday congratulated Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle for his promotion to cardinal-bishop, making him one of the highest ranking officials of the Catholic Church.

In a televised briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque thanked Tagle for giving honor to the country.

“Ang tagumpay n’yo po, Your Eminence, ay tagumpay ng buong sambayanang Pilipino. Maraming salamat po sa karangalan and congratulations,” Roque said.

The former Manila archbishop is also the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a top Vatican post.

Tagle left for Rome in February this year to assist the Pope in running the Catholic Church, which has been a constant target of criticism by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte has repeatedly lambasted the Catholic Church, bringing up the supposed misdeeds of clergymen and claiming to have been molested by a priest when he was a young student.

He also said the clergy should not use the pulpit to attack him and his policies, particularly the war on drugs.

In early March, the President also claimed Tagle was removed by Pope Francis from his position as Manila archbishop for allegedly interfering in politics.  — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News