Kammala wannan jumlar: Manning yana ɗaya daga cikin 'yan majalisa waɗanda suka halarci taron da aka yi a watan Agusta da Oktoba 1978, wanda ya zaɓi Paparoma John Paul I da John Paul II. Kafin ya shiga taron, ya lura cewa Cocin "ba ta da goyon baya a siyasa a wurare da yawa" kuma ya yi kira ga a sami papa wanda zai iya "canja mutane ta wurin nuna ƙauna". A cikin 1981, John Paul II ya aike shi a matsayin jakadan Paparoma na musamman zuwa bikin a Drogheda, Ireland na shekaru ɗari na uku na shahadar Saint Oliver Plunkett. Ya yi kira da a dakatar da korar 'yan Salvadoran
'yan gudun hijirar yakin basasa a shekarar 1983.