Cebu journalism lost a one-of-a-kind personality in the death of Max Limpag. But although I have known him personally, I would leave it to professional journalists to describe the void they now experience after he unexpectedly went to the great beyond.
Because of his interest to pursue Church-related issues, I prefer a different way of honoring him. His more recent interests as a journalist included the suspicious loss of Church treasures most especially in the parish of Boljoon, and the insistent use of Latin by some renegade groups. One thing I admire in him was that he never deemed any churchman as beyond question. His fearless pursuit of stories made him enter an archdiocesan-wide gathering which was supposedly exclusive to the clergy. He was not an endearing figure to some clerics who thought their job was to make the Church appear good. One time, an over-zealous cleric, apparently without getting any clearance from Archbishop Jose Palma, practically formed a cordon-sanitaire around him and barred this fearless journalist from interviewing the good Archbishop. Max then openly protested in social media. It was later known that the Archbishop was himself more than willing to be interviewed. I agreed with Max when he explained that it is not the job of a journalist to make the Church look good. The Church can hire propagandists if she wants. But the task of a journalist is to report facts as he or she sees them. Later, he sent me a message saying that the Archbishop gave him a copy of a book I wrote. He then added, “I just did not tell him that I already have a signed copy.”
So, how will I honor Max? Well, I will take his cudgels (even if belatedly) and answer those who say that it is wrong to criticize priests. I have already made this point months ago. But now I would like to cite good Catholics, some of whom are canonized saints, who were critical of some clergymen.
St. Bernard of Clairveaux: “…rare are the ones who are not devoted exclusively to their own interests. They love their perquisites, and they love them more than they love Christ.”
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: “… Of the one whose chair you occupy, Saint Peter, it is not recounted that he strutted about clad in silks, dripping in jewels, plastered with gold on a white horse, surrounded by soldiers… Somehow, without any of this, Peter still thought he could well enough fulfill the Lord’s injunction, ‘’If you love me feed my sheep.’ But have you followed Peter? No, you have followed Constantine.” (The saint was attacking Pope Eugene, who used to be a student of St. Bernard. St. Bernard was an adviser of Pope Eugene.)
St. Peter Damian: “…some of them (bishops) craving church honors with a desire hotter than the vapors of Etna, thereupon enter the clientele of the powerful as shamefully as if they had been bought as slaves.”
Dante: “Tell me now, how much treasure did our Lord require of Saint Peter before he placed the keys in his hands? Surely, he demanded nothing but ‘follow me.’ Nor did Peter or the others take gold or silver from Matthias who won by lot the post that a guilty soul (Judas) had lost. Therefore, stay here and guard well your ill-gotten money.” (This is from the Divine Comedy. Dante was referring to Pope Nicholas III. He accused the Pope of simony and imagined him to be in hell.)
Ludolph, a Carthusian: “Never has the devil persecuted the Church as he does today. Our adversary Lucifer persecuted it in its adolescence by the hand of the heretics. But now that it abides at the summit of its prosperity, he persecutes it by illicit movements and inordinate desires.” (This is taken from A Life of Christ. Saint Ignatius of Loyola read this book while convalescing from a battle wound. It is one of the books that challenged Ignatius to conversion.)
When Max wrote about the Church, his words came from the same desire to see her more configured to be the institution that Jesus envisioned. The next time someone write about the Church the way Max did, we should welcome him or her. But when will the next Max emerge?
Rest in peace, Max.