OFFICIALS of St. John’s Institute (SJI), also known as Hua Ming, will bring the issue of stripping of the school’s Catholic status by Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon to the Vatican.
The officials led by Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman Benjamin Lopue Jr. on Thursday, May 11, expressed their dismay over Buzon’s decision.
On Wednesday, Buzon declared SJI is no longer a Catholic school, adding that the Diocese has decided to pull out its ministry from the school following the failed negotiations between the Church and the institution over the ownership of the property on which the Queen of Peace Parish stands.
With the departure of the ministry, Buzon said the Parish will become a private structure where the school can no longer hold masses and other sacraments.
Lopue said the decision of the Diocese to pull out the ministry and declaring SJI as no longer a Catholic school “shocked” them, adding that it is “unfair” and “uncatholic.”
BOT member Andre Palanca slammed Buzon, claiming that the Bishop is using “religious blackmail” and seemed to be “very vindictive” to the school.
He said Buzon is apparently not concerned with his flock because he did not reach out with them.
With the development, the SJI officials said they will elevate the matter to the highest Catholic church authority, the Vatican, as the act of Buzon was “unbecoming of a bishop.”
Place of worship
SJI officials said the church, which will be “de-parished” by the Diocese by the end of the month, will still be a place of worship sans mass.
The school will continue to use it as a place of worship, they said.
Moreover, BOT president Cesar Villanueva said the SJI will be a lay Catholic school, adding that the institution will continue to teach Christian Living Education to its students.
Villanueva also said the school will hold prayers and will organize Catholic organizations for the students.
Palanca added that the separation of the school from the church will not affect its curriculum as SJI has academic freedom.
Effect on enrollment
The school officials admitted that the development would have a “short term impact” on the enrollment for this incoming school year.
They said some parents are planning to pull out their children from the school though they have yet to know if how many will transfer as the enrollment has yet to start.
The school officials assured the community that they will double their efforts to make SJI a “better Catholic school.”
Prayerful community
In the school’s statement, which was read by Villanueva during the press conference, they said they were taken aback by the underhanded and surreptitious manner by which the Diocese made public their sentiment, with a clear intention of vilifying and shaming the school, its administrators, alumni and the entire community through a press conference and circular issued by the Bishop.
“Hua Ming has always been a prayerful community that gives deference to a religious authority. Even in the direst of moments when the school community was being abused, insulted, and disrespected by no less than those who took over our church, we opted to suffer in silence and allow the conflict to be resolved in a peaceful manner by a higher religious authority,” the statement said.
Stop partisan conflict
Contrary to a peaceful disengagement both parties agreed to, the pronouncements of the Bishop will trigger, not peace, but more anger, hurt, and persecution of an institution that has, for the past 60 years, helped in the evangelization of the Filipino Chinese community and drew thousands of them into the embrace of the Roman Catholic Faith, the statement further said.
It added that the action of the Diocese will further erode the chance of peace and healing in an already wounded community.
“But despite the vilification, we continue to humbly submit to the Bishop’s decision even if this will strip our school of the status of being a Chinese Catholic school, depriving and denying our students and school community the experiential life we have had as Catholics as administered and taught to us by our Founding Fathers for more than half a century,” the statement said.
The statement said that this was a civil issue and was never doctrinal and had nothing to do with our faith.
“We urge the Bishop to stop engaging in partisan conflict and live up to his spiritual obligation to reach out and be the spiritual leader of his flock,” the statement added.