by Marie Vargas
News of the appointment as Cardinal of Bishop Pablo Virgilio David was immediately mainstreamed in the Philippines while the appointment of Archbishop Isao Kikuchi of the Archdiocese of Tokyo overjoyed Japan. Meanwhile, both expressed shock at their appointment.
Bishop David of Kalookan and Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo
In a message to brother priests, Cardinal-elect David said, "I am in state of disbelief".
Meanwhile, in a message in his Facebook page, Cardinal-elect Kikuchi said, "I was surprised. I was gripped by fear. I am horrified by my own inadequacy."
Archbishop Kikuchi, who succeeded Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle as President of Caritas Internationalis, recalled how he heard the news:
"Today in the morning, there was a mass held by the Japanese Association at the headquarters of the Divine Word Association, so I went out. When I returned from mass in the early afternoon and got off the taxi near St. Peter's, I saw that many of the people who had participated in the noon Angelus prayer had returned. One of them was a young man who always asked for the bishop's portrait to be autographed, and he approached me and said, Congratulations, Archbishop Kikuchi. You're a cardinal.'' I thought, What a joke."
"When I arrived at the nearby dormitory, Cardinal Rueda from Bogotá was in the lobby, and I was immediately asked to listen to a recording of the Vatican broadcast from Angeles. Indeed, my name was being called. I was honestly surprised. I just took a picture with the Pope and talked to him on Friday, and he didn't say anything. I am surprised and at the same time humbled by the weight of this responsibility."
Archbishop Kikuchi noted that this is an honor for Asia.
"The appointment of a cardinal is an honor for the Church in Japan, an honor for the Diocese of Tokyo, a great honor for the Church in Asia, and a great honor for Caritas Internationalis."
Archbishop Kikuchi, who became an SVD priest in 1986, noted that it likewise an honor for the Society of the Divine Word: "However, more than that, the appointment of two members of the Society of the Divine Word as cardinals was a great honor for the SVDs. Cardinal Thomas Tian, who was the archbishop of Beijing immediately after the war, was the only cardinal in the Society of the Divine Word until now."
Two SVDs will be elevated to Cardinal, the other being Archbishop Ladislav Nemet of Belgrade, Serbia.
See the complete list of appointments here.
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