Human rights advocate named to head Manila Archdiocese

Pope Francis named Cardinal Jose Advincula of Capiz to be the new archbishop of Manila.

The March 25 announcement in Manila and at the Vatican filled the vacancy Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle left in February 2020, when he was called to the Vatican.

The appointment puts Advincula, a human rights advocate and promoter of strong families, in the same city as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has urged security forces to "kill" and "finish off" armed communist rebels and "not think about human rights."

Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, wished Advincula "God's abundant blessing in his new mission" and offered him "our continued prayers and support."

The new Manila archbishop, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals in November, will turn 69 March 30.

Ucanews.com reported that the cardinal has said: "The church cannot simply ignore human rights, because there is a moral dimension to them. The right to life, for example, is consistent with the church's teaching that there is dignity in the human person."

Before the November consistory, he told Vatican News, "Poverty is one of the reasons why we have social problems" and that he saw education as "the way to develop the people so that they can earn more in order to live a more decent life."

Tagle currently serves as head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.