Philippine bishops defend Cardinal Tagle over pastoral sexual abuse concerns

Ahead of a papal conclave, a watchdog group has warned that front runners Tagle and Parolin cannot be relied on to protect children

The Philippines’ governing body of Catholic bishops has issued a rare statement on clerical sexual abuse, defending Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle on the issue days before the opening of a conclave to elect a new pope.

Watchdog group BishopAccountability.org warned on Friday that Tagle and Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin could not be relied on to protect children, with its co-director accusing the church in the Philippines of remaining in the “dark ages”.

Both men are considered front runners to replace Pope Francis.

Cardinals from around the world are currently in the Vatican, ahead of a conclave on Wednesday of the eligible ones among them to elect a new pontiff.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) posted a statement to its Facebook page on Saturday night saying that “addressing allegations of misconduct by clergy rests with the respective diocesan bishops or religious superiors” – and not with Tagle.

“Since his appointment to a full-time position in the Roman Curia, Cardinal Tagle no longer holds direct authority over any diocese in the Philippines,” the statement dated May 2 read.

It also noted the major role Tagle – who served as archbishop of Manila between 2011 and 2019 – had played in crafting pastoral guidelines on sexual abuse that were disseminated in 2003.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, said on Friday that guidelines dealing with sexual abuse cases had not been published on the web pages of the Manila archdiocese nor the bishops’ conference of the Philippines.

“If Cardinal Tagle cannot even get his brother bishops from his home country to publish guidelines, what on earth can we expect for him to achieve as pope of a global church?” Doyle asked.

The document cited by the CBCP, “Pastoral Guidelines on Sexual Abuses and Misconduct by the Clergy”, could not be found on the body’s website on Sunday.

Calls to the CBCP and the Manila Archdiocese were not immediately returned.

Doyle reserved even harsher criticism for Italian cardinal Parolin, calling him a “consummate secret-keeper” and saying “any hope of transparency around sex abuse will be dashed completely” were he to be elected.