Talibon-born priest gets UN assignment

By Shirley Ann Enerio-Camacho

HOUSTON , TEXAS - A special person recently slips in and out of Houston simply and very quietly. He came for a quick visit to some old friends and “paisanos,” as part of his much-needed break before he assumes his major post as a career diplomat in the United Nations (UN) in New York as first counsellor and deputy head of mission at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See and of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. From the bloodline of the legacy-making clan of the Garcias, Monsignor Barney Auza rose to be the man second in command and will sit as the Vatican 's permanent observer in the various UN assemblies and meetings to undertake lobbying efforts, and commit for various speaking engagements. Monsignor Auza's great grandfather was a brother of the late President Carlos P. Garcia's father. His great grandmother was a sister of the late President's mother. Like the late President, Monsignor Auza, was also born and raised in Talibon. He is the 8th of the 12 children of Meliton Auza and Magdalena Cleopas. He is the only priest in the brood. As another pride of Boholanos, Monsignor Auza has served the Vatican for the last 17 years of which Prior to the UN assignment, he served the central offices at the Secretariat of State in Vatican for seven and a half years. His UN assignment puts him probably a step away from becoming a Papal Nuncio (Papal Ambassador). Monsignor Auza was graduated valedictorian both in Talibon's public elementary school and in high school at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Taloto District, Tagbilaran City. Monsignor Auza finished his Licentiate in Philosophy in Theology at the University of Santo Thomas (UST), and Masters in Education and Licentiate at the UST Central Seminary where he graduated summa cum laude. It was in 1985 that he was ordained in the Diocese of Oakland in California by Bishop Daniel Walsh, then auxiliary bishop of San Francisco , though he was incardinated in the Diocese of Tagbilaran.

He now belongs to the Diocese of Talibon.

His first pastoral ministry was as chaplain at the UST Hospital for just a year. Then he went to Rome to seek wider horizons and take further studies, unknowingly stepping on the track that leads to bigger things in life. In Rome , he finished a doctorate degree in Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (1990), a Licentiate in Canon Law (1989), at the same time, studying at the Vatican Diplomatic School where he graduated in 1990. As required, he had to master four major languages-Italian, French, Spanish and English. His first diplomatic assignment was in Magadascar and Mauritius , in the South Indian Ocean , then Bulgaria , then Albania and then a brief stint in Great Britain. A political unrest that placed his diplomatic mission struggling amid a country at war made his Albania assignment the most challenging. Back in Rome , he was the first Filipino to work for the Vatican 's Secretary of State. And, in his seven-and-a-half-year assignment, there he was most privileged to entertain various heads of state and foreign dignitaries including President Bush and party during the burial of Pope John Paul II. 

The influence of Vatican in the great chunk of the world's populace gained recognition to be represented at the UN, an international peace venue. “While the Vatican is a state, it is the Holy See which is the subject of international diplomatic relations. By Holy See, in plain terms, we mean the Pope as the head of the universal Catholic Church who exercises supreme authority over the whole Church. This universally recognized status of the Pope is one of the reasons that justify our presence in the UN. In a broader sense, we represent all Catholics at the United Nations and promote the moral and spiritual interests of the whole Church,” Monsignor Auza calmly said. His UN assignment poses a promising slot of a full-fledged ambassador as among the great possibilities in store for the 47-year-old monsignor from Talibon. Then, he might be the first Boholano priest to become a Papal Nuncio. Currently, out of the 124 Papal Nuncios worldwide, there are only three Filipino priests in this most elite league of papal diplomats. But, Monsignor Auza remains humble even as the Boholano community in Houston gave him a simple  welcome cum despidida party at Marino and Leonor Aguhar's residence who hosted the visiting monsignor.  Many Boholanos have expressed pride to have known him as he shows potentials to make significant achievements while at the UN.

Meanwhile, another Boholano priest in Rome makes it real big, in the person of Fr. Antonio “Tony” Pernia, SVD. Fr. Pernia is the first ever Filipino priest to become the superior general of the SVD (Societas Verbi Divini, or the Society of the Divine Word), the highest position of an elite order held ever since only by German  SVD priests. My brother, Johnny and his wife expressed pride to have their church wedding officiated by Fr. Pernia who eventually made it on top at the SVD at the heart of Rome. Indeed, it is a great pride and honor to reminisce their exchange of vows before a now highly respected top gun of the SVD. And, that was yet in one summer many years ago in Davao City .

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