Archbishop Palma will
replace Ricardo Cardinal Vidal whose resignation was finally accepted
by Pope Benedict XVI, a report posted at the CPCP website stated. It
was learned that Cardinal Vidal submitted his letter of resignation in
2006 when he turned 75 years old.
Archbishop Palma’s
appointment was announced at the
Vatican
at 6:00 in the evening, Manila time, on October 15.
PIA has been trying to
reach Archbishop Palma, but to no avail, as of press time.
The CBCP report
however said that when reached, Archbishop Palma said he is
“overwhelmed by the love of God” and the trust of the Holy Father.
“Unworthy as I am, I
accepted the appointment out of obedience,” he said. This was the same
message when he was appointed as Archbishop of Palo while serving as
bishop of the Diocese of Calbayog.
When reached by PIA,
the clergy in the Archdiocese of Palo expressed mixed reaction at the
Archbishop’s new appointment.
Reverend Fr. Gilbert
Urbina of the Saints Peter and Paul Parish of Ormoc City said, “This
was a speculation that has been in the air for a long time already and
now it has been confirmed.”
“Considering the
prestige of his new assignment, we thank God for this special grace
and rejoice with the people of God in Cebu for this great gift from
God,” Fr. Gilbert added.
Msgr. Ramon Aguilos of
Our Lady of Lourds Parish exclaimed, “I rejoice over his new
appointment, at the same time quite sad to know he is leaving the
Archdiocese of Palo at the time that we are preparing for Palo’s
Diamond Jubillee.”
“But that’s how the
Church operates. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the
name of the Lord. The sadness who knows, is a preparation for better
things ahead for the Archdiocese of Palo,” the good Msgr. said.
The Lord will give us
a Shepherd after His own heart in the same manner that He gave us ABP
Palma as a gift for us for four years and 7 months. I pray for his
fruitful shepherding in the community entrusted to his care,” Msgr.
Ramon added.
Fr. Isagani Petilos
said that his is actually a mixed reaction. He said, “yes, we are
happy with his appointment as the new Archbishop of Cebu and
hopefully, the next Cardinal, but we are sad because we will miss a
great shepherd and father. He has a lot of dreams for the Archdiocese
of Palo, for our people and for the clergy.”
“These will all be
passed on to his successor and we pray that the next Archbishop may
continue to carry his dreams for the Archdiocese,” Fr. Petilos
concluded.
For his part, Fr.
Amadeo Alvero, the media coordinator of the Archdiocese, said, “we are
all filled with mixed feelings. We are happy and proud that our own
Archbishop is now the Archbishop of Cebu. At the same time, we are
also sad because he will leave us.”
“We know that he has
been a good bishop, a caring father, an understanding brother, and
above all, a loving shepherd to all of us. Surely, he will always be
in our hearts always. We will pray for him to remain faithful in his
love and service to God and to the people whom God entrusted to him,”
he added.
It was in March of
2006 when the 60-year old prelate was appointed as archbishop of Palo
in Leyte.
Archbishop Palma was
born in Dingle, Iloilo on March 19, 1950. He studied his philosophy at
St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary his theology at St. Joseph Regional
Seminary.
He then earned his
Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the
University
of Sto. Tomas in Manila, and his doctorate at the St. Thomas Aquinas
Pontifical University in Rome.
He was ordained priest
for the Archdiocese of Jaro on August 21, 1976. After a year as
parochial vicar at the Jaro Cathedral, he was given a teaching
assignment in St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary.
He then became rector
of the St. Joseph Regional Seminary. At the same time he occupied
several positions in the diocese. In 1997 he became the parish priest
of the Parish of St. Anthony of Padua in Jaro.
In 1998, he was named
Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu by then Pope John Paul II. A year later, he
was transferred to the Diocese of Calbayog.
Archbishop Palma is
currently serving his first term as vice-president of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
Cardinal Vidal will
continue to head Cebu archdiocese as Apostolic Administrator with
powers of an ordinary bishop until Archbishop Palma’s installation.
