Cardinal Rosales getting too politically opinionated?

MANILA, August 26, 2010—The Philippines is in the dock again over the hostage crisis that killed several Hong Kong tourists, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said.

The prelate said that Monday’s bloody incident which was fueled by the way the authorities handled the situation was a big blow to the image of the country.

“It’s really a black eye. That’s the worst thing that happened to us,” Rosales told reporters on Thursday. [Nobody can dispute that!]

According to him, it’s hapless that it took only one man to destroy the image of the Filipinos and the country as well. [Like what Marcos did, and Arroyo, and...]

“It's a pity for a country like the Philippines when one does something wrong, it ruins the country's image. That's the sad reality when one creates trouble and gets publicized or reported to the whole world. That's not good,” added Rosales.

The head of Manila Roman Catholic Church then called on Filipinos, especially those working in Hong Kong, to help the country in restoring its image to the world.

“Let us uplift the image of our country by proving to them that not all (Filipinos) are like Rolando Mendoza,” he also said.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Bishop Nereo Odchimar earlier appealed to the international community not to take the tragedy against all Filipinos.

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Is it just me or is it just that the cardinal suddenly became too opinionated in Philippine politics?

When everybody was looking for a "Cardinal Jaime Sin" to speak up during the 2004 Presidential election cheating scandal and the multi-million dollar broadband scam, Cardinal Rosales decided to keep mum on the issue.

He started speaking up only during the recent National Elections when then-candidate Benigno Aquino III said that the people would rise up in revolt if elections were rigged.

Is it just me or there is something up with the cardinal?

Change of heart?  Maybe.

Preferential option for a sitting president?  Hmm...

I can still see Caritas Manila in the background.