Cardinal Tagle: First among equals, last in ego
There is a curious fascination with the term primus inter pares in Philippine public life. Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III invoked it as Senate president. Former Rep. Joey Salceda used it in describing then Speaker Martin Romualdez during the 18th Congress. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, too, appealed to the language of democratic standing. Apparently, Latin lends ambition a certain elegance. Ordinary self-importance sounds considerably more distinguished in a dead language.
The expression has Roman roots and echoes in the traditions of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the Catholic Church, Canon 352 §1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law describes the Dean of the College of Cardinals as first among his fellow cardinals.
One wonders whether some public officials appreciate the pares as much as the primus. Fortunately, Cardinal Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle who was recently made Dean of Cardinals, seems to understand that being first among equals does not require making everyone else feel unequal.
I call him Chito out of affection born of personal acquaintance. I was his student at the Loyola School of Theology at Ateneo de Manila University and, like him, an alumnus of San Jose Seminary at its Katipunan campus. Having known him beyond ecclesiastical titles, calling him merely Tagle feels oddly impersonal. Besides, Rome has enough people addressing him as “Your Eminence.” Allow an old student this small privilege.
His appointment as Dean of the College of Cardinals makes him the first Filipino and Asian to hold this historic office. Yet his distinction lies not simply in reaching the heights of the Church but in arriving there without behaving as though everyone else belongs downstairs.
In 1997, while still a young priest and seminary rector, Chito was appointed to the International Theological Commission under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the late Pope Benedict XVI). Only about 30 theologians and scholars worldwide were selected. His face might have suggested a schoolboy, but his mind belonged among the finest theologians of his generation. I witnessed his brilliance firsthand. His three-hour classes at Loyola School of Theology drew such crowds that even some of his former Jesuit professors attended. Imagine professors voluntarily listening to another professor. In the academe, that approaches a miracle.
Chito made profound theology accessible even to ordinary lay catechists. He combined intellectual depth with clarity, humor, and infectious enthusiasm. Three hours with him passed faster than a politician’s three-minute explanation of why an apparent scandal was not really a scandal.
But one lesson came not from a lecture hall. Chito once shared how, while traveling to Baguio to give a retreat, he initially considered taking an air-conditioned bus. Then the inner voice of his spiritual director reminded him of humility and the example of Christ. The difference in fare was a mere P20. He chose the ordinary Victory Liner instead. Twenty pesos. That was the price of the temptation and perhaps the cost of a small examination of conscience.
How many politicians and government officials would surrender air-conditioned comfort for that amount? How many would exchange chauffeured vehicles for an ordinary bus? Some have not merely a car but a fleet, as though humility required a convoy. And what of us men of the cloth? Do we always choose the humbler road, or have we mistaken ecclesiastical dignity for a divine exemption from inconvenience?
Taking an ordinary bus does not, of course, automatically make anyone holy. But recognizing vanity and choosing against it is a spiritual discipline. Chito understood that humility is not a speech delivered from a pulpit. It is a decision made when nobody is applauding. His appointment affirms the Philippines’ contribution to Catholic theology and pastoral life. It also challenges the assumption that spiritual leadership must come from the West. For the universal Church, he offers a model of authority rooted in intelligence, warmth, and service.
Should he someday enter the Sistine Chapel as dean and emerge as pope, following his former mentor Benedict XVI, it would be historic. But his worth does not depend on wearing papal white.
Perhaps our leaders should take note. Too many aspire to be primus while conveniently forgetting that pares means equals. Chito reminds us that greatness needs neither motorcades nor smaller people to stand beside it.
In a country where everyone wants the head of the table, Cardinal Chito Tagle reminds us that a truly great man can be perfectly content taking the ordinary bus. First among equals indeed. Last in ego, and all the greater for it.
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Fr. Cyrain Cabuenas is a Catholic priest from Borongan, Eastern Samar, who currently serves in the State of Vermont. He is a former correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Visayas bureau.
