Sunday, August 31, 2008 No mass in Inayawan chapel today
ON orders of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, no mass will be held at the Inayawan barangay chapel, but religious activities for the celebration will go on, an official of the archdiocese said.
Msgr. Esteban Binghay said he will hold a mass today in honor of Saint Augustine, the patron saint of Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City.
But he clarified that the mass will not be held at the chapel that stands on a property involved in a dispute.
“I will celebrate mass on Sunday, at the makeshift chapel. It will not be at the chapel because the Cardinal has forbidden us to celebrate mass there,” said Binghay, the archdiocesan episcopal vicar.
Controversial
Msgr. Achilles Dakay, the archdiocese’s media liaison officer, agreed that it is alright to hold a mass for the fiesta as long as it will not be at the chapel, which he said is in a “controversial position.”
Dakay made it clear that no mass should be celebrated at the chapel, as this would be a “defiance of the order of the Cardinal.”
“Do they respect Cardinal Vidal? Who is Cardinal Vidal to them?” he said.
No written communication or final warning will be sent to Barangay Inayawan officials to stop them from holding a mass at the chapel.
“There is no need for that, they already know of the order. The only question here right now is if they respect Cardinal,” said Dakay.
Binghay shared Dakay’s sentiments and said that no mass should be held at the chapel because it is considered a private chapel.
Document
“There is no document or any record that the chapel has been donated to the Archdiocese of Cebu and can be used for the liturgy,” added Binghay.
He explained that had the chapel been donated to be used as a community chapel, there will be no problems.
“A chapel where a mass is to be celebrated has to be donated,” said Binghay.
The chapel, which stands on a property involved in a dispute, is owned by the Jaca family.
In order for the barangay to finally have their own chapel, Binghay said that the money collected during their Novena masses and tomorrow’s mass will be used to buy a lot for the barangay’s chapel. (EPB)
