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Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Wenceslao: Priests and material possessions
By Bong O. Wenceslao
I KNEW the problem at the Sto. Tomas de Villanueva parish in Pardo was serious when my wife told me her officemate, a devout Catholic, now hears mass at the Sto. Rosario church along P. Del Rosario St. That was days before Pardo folk rallied against Pardo parish priest, Msgr. Constantino Diotay, and his assistant, Fr. Domingo Tapic.
My wife is from Inayawan, and that explains the interest in the affairs of that parish. While the family now lives in Minglanilla, activities of the Pardo church are part of our Holy Week ritual. One time, even when my wife was pregnant with our son, she still made it a point to join the procession. Three days later she underwent caesarian operation.
The accusations against the two priests do not involve sexual misconduct. It does not, however, make them less galling. The church needs the financial support of its flock, thus the issue on how money that flows into the coffers of the parish is being spent is always a sensitive one. In the case of Pardo, there are also those church fees to reckon with.
Allegations about the corrupt practices of priests are not new. I remember when I was still a student activist and we had this seminar in Carcar town. A young priest stopped by one day and engaged us in a conversation. He talked in passing about the vehicle that he said he was able to acquire in just a few years of being a priest. That almost floored us.
Later, when I was already a full-time organizer, I sought refuge in one of the small parishes in the island of Bantayan. The situation there was pitiful. The church was a little bigger than a chapel and masses sometimes drew in less than ten people. The parish priest had to compensate that by doing the rounds holding masses in the barangays.
The priest talked about his life in the periphery and his misgivings over the attitude of some priests, who wanted to be assigned to bigger parishes that, of course, were more financially stable. Nothing was said about the perks of being in big parishes but I did try reading between the lines: Economics do shape the nature of people, even priests.
I really don’t know whether the vow of poverty applies only to certain priests. I remember a special television feature on a popular priest in Luzon, and he was proudly showing to the viewers his expensive collection of various items. He said something about him not having a vow of poverty. Well, he was the theologian while I am not.
Still, the Christ I read in the bible didn’t show off expensive vehicles or covet material possessions. But then, Christ is God, isn’t He?
(khanwens@yahoo.com / 0915-9228651 / my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 19, 2006 issue)
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