Cardinal Vidal rushed to hospital

Archbishop Emeritus of Cebu Ricardo Cardinal Vidal was rushed to the hospital after having difficulty speaking while in his retirement house in Sto. Nino Village in barangay Banilad, Cebu City at 12 noon last Tuesday.

Fr. Joseph de Aquino, the cardinal’s secretary, said Vidal’s condition was being closely monitored at the Perpetual Succour Hosptial.

“This morning the cardinal underwent some tests to determine (his condition).

At present, the cardinal is very fine, thank God,” Fr. de Aquino said yesterday.

He said only Vidal’s physician can give a detailed statement about the prelate’s medical condition.

According to Vidal’s household cook Divine Grace Paroginog, the 82-year-old prelate experienced slurred speech at 12 noon last Tuesday.

Vidal, who had a heart bypass in 1995, has a pacemaker installed in his heart. He underwent angioplasty in 2005.

Msgr. Esteban Binghay, episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu, urged the faithful to pray for Vidal’s healing. /Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol