Church urged to cleanse ranks

MANILA, Philippines - In the face of President Duterte’s criticisms against the Church, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday called on fellow prelates to cleanse their dioceses of erring priests.

“It is a golden opportunity for the Church at this time to do self-cleansing. I think this is a very positive issue when the President attacks the clergy… of course it is painful,” retired Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz said.

Cruz is the head of the CBCP’s Dispensation Section that handles and investigates cases and complaints against priests.

“The bishops should be now more attentive. You just don’t keep your eyes closed to these matters. If you do, there will be more,” Cruz said.

Duterte blasted anew the Catholic Church after bishops issued last Sunday a pastoral letter expressing concern over the “reign of terror” brought about by the drug crackdown in many poor communities.

The CBCP also lamented the killings are viewed by some as “normal” and “something that needs to be done.”

The bishops clarified that while the Church is in favor of curbing illegal drugs, killing drug suspects is not the solution to the problem.

Duterte replied by saying the faithful can go directly to God without going to confession, a sacrament wherein Catholics tell their sins to a priest.

“There is a God. Go directly to God. Do not go through confession. The mouth of the priest stinks,” Duterte said.

Duterte has been at odds with the Catholic Church particularly on issues concerning the death penalty, extrajudicial killings and the use of contraceptives.

Duterte said Church leaders have no moral ascendancy to lecture him, saying some of them have been involved in illegal acts such as being involved with women and fathering children.

Cruz said that as a rule, there is a tribunal that attends to complaints against members of the 86 Catholic dioceses in the country.

If the dioceses refuse to follow the call for cleansing, it could only create scandals, it would disorient some members of the clergy and affect the formation of seminarians, he said.  

The cases pending before the tribunal could either have been filed against a priest or a priest would stand as the complainant. – With Alexis Romero