Tuesday, October 10, 2007 Fr. Ben won’t be suspended yet
CEBU Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal thanked the institutions that closed the case of Fr. Benedicto Ejares, who was accused of seven counts of acts of lasciviousness, child abuse and sexual harassment.
“As I respect other institutions, I also respect their decisions,” the prelate told reporters yesterday.
Asked for the whereabouts of Fr. Ejares, he was brisk in his reply, “As of now, he is in Manila, and that’s it.”
After the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the complaint against Fr. Ejares, the Department of Social Welfare and Development is planning to file a motion for reconsideration.
Out of 20 third year female students, seven of them filed a complaint against the priest after he allegedly touched their arms and toyed with their bra straps during a confession in a Life in the Spirit seminar in Abellana National High School in November last year.
But opening up the case of the accused priest did not sit well with the cardinal.
“As a churchman, I am happy that the case was closed. But other people would like to open it up again. I don’t know why,” he said.
Cebu Archdiocesan Liaison Officer Msgr. Achilles Dakay said that the controversy should have been shelved with the dismissal of the complaint.
He also revealed that while his office is keeping communication lines with Fr. Ejares open, he is asked to refrain from hearing confession.
Whether or not Fr. Ejares will be suspended will depend on many factors, which the prelate did not enumerate.
“But there is a timetable for that. We have not yet applied Church protocol. There is a fine distinction between lasciviousness and inappropriateness. So how can you define them? There is the protocol. For now, I think the case is closed,” said Vidal.
His “old, old, old” advice to other priests: “They should, before the public, show themselves as priests and nothing else.” (NRC)
