Panama's first cardinal: I'm astonished at my appointment

Panama City, Panama, Jan 20, 2015 / 04:33 pm (CNA).- Among the new cardinals Pope Francis will create in the February consistory is Bishop Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan of the Diocese of David, Panama, who will become the first cardinal from that country.

Bishop Lacunza spoke with CNA and shared his experience upon learning of the appointment.

The Panamanian bishop said that when he first received news he would be made a cardinal, he was “surprised and astonished because I was not expecting it and I had no idea it was coming. Astonished because I feel that it is something I don’t deserve and I will try to carry it out as best I can.”

Bishop Lacunza was born in Pamplona, Spain, in 1944. In 1963 he entered the novitiate of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, professing solemn vows in 1967. He was ordained a priest of the mendicant order in 1969, and was sent to Panama in 1971, where he has served since.

He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Panama in 1985, and received Panamanian citizenship the same year. He was then made Bishop of Chitre in 1994, and has served as Bishop of David since his transfer there in 1999.

Bishop Lacunza is known for mediating conflicts among indigenous groups and development groups such as mining corporations, according to his order.

“I am sure that when Pope Francis thought of me for a cardinal, he thought of me as a bishop of the Panamanian Church, a bishop who works in Panama and hopes to continue working in Panama,” he told CNA.

Bishop Lacunza said the reality in Panama is not very different from the rest of Latin America and the world, where there is much inconsistency between faith and daily life, something the Panamanian bishops have highlighted on numerous occasions.

“One cannot help but be astonished that the majority of Panamanians, 80 to 85 percent, say they are Catholics, and another 10 to 15 percent say they are Christians, and that Panama is a society of so much inequality, where more than 30 percent of the population lives in poverty, with spectacular levels of growth, which shows there is no equity and an equitable distribution of the treasure generated by the country.”

“That continues to be a major complaint for our faith,” he said.

Regarding his new service to the Church as a cardinal, Bishop Lacunza does not see his life changing very much and hopes to continue being the Bishop of David. He is currently waiting for the Holy Father to specify the areas to which he can contribute.

“I think the cardinalate is not only a position to be exercised in Rome but is also a responsibility towards what is cooked up in Rome, as we say in Spanish: that it be served up and digested in the areas where one live and works.”

Bishop Lacunza later referred to the fact that this is the first time in history that a Pope has decided to select a cardinal from Panama.

“The explication that I see is that the Pope has taken into account this country that has just celebrated 500 years of existence and is the door through which the Gospel was brought to the American continent, as the first diocese on solid ground in America was established here.”

Panamanians have received the news of his selection with joy and satisfaction, he noted.

“If they have welcomed the news with pride, they should walk with me now in prayer so that I can fulfill this duty and mission entrusted to me by the Pope,” he added.

Bishop Lacunza is one of 20 men who will be made cardinal at the Feb. 14 consistory. Of these, 15 will be under the age of 75, and thus eligible to vote in the next conclave.