Cardinal David with political prisoners: ‘Welcoming, compassionate’

This photo taken on February 20, 2025 shows Philippine Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David (C) leading a procession at the start of a mass to pray for the healing of Pope Francis at a church in Manila. As cardinals gather in the Vatican to elect a new pope — with a Filipino among the favorites — the church in Asia’s most Catholic country is grappling with a decline in those with a vocation for the priesthood. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP) / NO USE AFTER JUNE 6, 2025 10:47:16 GMT – TO GO WITH ‘VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-PHILIPPINES, FOCUS’ BY PAM CASTRO

MANILA, Philippines – Faithfuls often come to church to listen to Jesus’s sacred words and ask for forgiveness for their sins, but Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David brought the church closer to the political prisoners.

He did that willingly, even going out of his way to welcome some political prisoners into the country with open arms.

In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Fides Lim described her encounters with the cardinal as she personally witnessed the two masses he officiated for political prisoners in 2024.

READ: Filipino pope could revive priestly vocations in Catholic bastion

Lim shared that she organized the masses as the spokesperson and convenor of the group Kapatid, a support organization for families and friends of political prisoners in the country.

Lim recalled that despite facing hurdles on the day of masses, Cardinal David still gave his blessing to the people who needed it the most.

“Ang sabi niya sa akin doon sa first visit: ‘I was waiting to be invited.’ I felt very humbled by what he said that very open arms siya doon sa mga tao na kahit na alam niya, alam natin na unrelentingly being attacked, he was still very open and welcoming and very compassionate,” Lim said.

(What he told me on his first visit: ‘I was waiting to be invited. I felt very humbled by what he said. He welcomed the people there with open arms, even when he knew they were unrelentingly being attacked, he was still very open, welcoming, and compassionate.)

‘Significant’ for political prisoners

READ: Cardinal David: Victims of unjust detention must be compensated

“He came as a bishop and returned as a cardinal,” Lim said, making reference to the first visit of David to the political prisoners in January 2024 and the second one in December 2024.

David was the bishop of Kaloocan before the late Pope Francis appointed him in October 2024 and was formally elevated to the rank of cardinal during a consistory in December of the same year.

Lim said that despite David’s busy December schedule, given that it was also Christmas season, he was able to celebrate a Holy Mass with political detainees last December 26.

Further, Lim described the masses she attended as a “blessing” for the start and end of 2024. She also said that the masses were special since the Catholic Church announced 2025 as the Jubilee Year, with a theme of “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Lim said that while they feel that cases against the political prisoners are dragging and being filed one after the other, “it gives us hope that there are people in high places like Cardinal David who has not forgotten those the government wants to forget and to shut away from society.”

“It’s more of shining a light and giving hope to people para mabuhayan sila ng loob (so they can be enlightened),” Lim added.

Lim also said that aside from the mass itself, it was David’s homily that spoke right through them.

“During his sermons, sinabi niya sa amin na naiintindihan ko ‘yung kalagayan niyo kasi dumaan din ako sa ganyan,” she said.

(During his sermons, he told us that he understood the [political prisoners’] situation because he went through the same thing.)

During the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, David widely criticized the bloody drug war that killed thousands, most of them the poor and the innocent ones. The cardinal was not spared from death threats and insults from Duterte himself.

It can be recalled that a sedition case filed against David and three other church leaders was dropped.

On a personal note, Lim shared that her husband, Vincent Ladlad, is also a political prisoner facing a case on alleged illegal possession of firearms since 2018. She mentioned that her husband was a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front.

“To have someone like Cardinal Ambo… Sabi ko nga (Like I said), it’s a blessing and lightens our burdens,” she said.

READ: Cardinal ‘Ambo’ David: Papal conclave’s ‘dark horse’, drug war critic

David in the Papal Conclave

David, and Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle and Jose Advincula are eligible for the Papal race. The conclave began on Wednesday and will last until white smoke comes from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signifying a new pope.

David, who is widely known for his social activism, is also being considered as a strong contender for the conclave. In a press conference, Father Shay Cullen recognized David’s stance on war on drugs, saying that “[i]t’s time for a Filipino pope who defends human rights and protects children.”

Despite David reminding the faithful that the Papal conclave is a sacred process, and not a political contest, Lim said that “it’s also time that the world also knows what kind of priest, what kind of shepherd, what kind of cardinal he is.”

Lim also recalled the encounter of David and the late pontiff where David told the latter of how he found out he was appointed as a cardinal. It was in October 2024 when David shared how the announcement came as a shock to him, as he learned it through a fellow priest.

She said that it captured both’s essence as “unassuming, very modest” and are not “looking for positions to glorify themselves but to give compassion to those who need it.”

“He’s cut from the same cloth as Pope Francis,” Lim added. /jpv