Still a long way to go for Camomot’s sainthood

CEBU, Philippines - If all goes as prayed, the late Archbishop Teofilo Bastida Camomot would be the third Filipino saint of the Roman Catholic Church and the second saint coming from the Visayas after Pedro Calungsod.

But as hard as it is to lead a virtuous life, the path to sainthood is just as arduous. What does it take for the Roman Catholic Church to declare a candidate as among the faithful’s intercessors in heaven?

“There is a process that is being followed. We still cannot declare him as saint. Only Rome can declare him a blessed, only Rome can declare him a saint. So, there are requirements,” said Fr. Samson Silloriquez, the Rome-based postulator for the cause of canonization of Archbishop Teofilo Camomot.

The first necessary step in the process, the diocesan inquiry, has already been completed.

Fr. Silloriquez of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects explained that establishment of causes begins at the diocesan level. The Daughters of Saint Teresa, the religious congregation that Camomot has founded, then petitioned formally for the opening of a cause for his beatification and canonization.

"What is done here in the diocese: to gather documents, to hear testimonies about the sanctity of life of Archbishop Camomot and at the same time about his heroic virtues," he said.

On October 15, 2010, then Archbishop of Cebu Ricardo Cardinal Vidal announced that the Holy See in Rome has approved the petition.  Since the moment investigations were launched, Camomot gained the title, "Servant of God."

Fr. Silloriquez said that the local diocesan tribunal has compiled around 1,600 pages of various documents like Camomot’s writings; testimonies from people who had close encounters with him, as well as other documents that would prove his sanctity of life and at the time show that he practiced virtuousness in a heroic manner.

The inquiry into the cause of canonization of Camomot was officially closed last March 2.

After the diocesan inquiry has been closed, what follows is the examination of all the documents and evidence gathered at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.

"When these get in Rome, these will be studied by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints if the process observed here in the diocese is in accordance with their rule," said Fr. Silloriquez.

He added that if indeed the diocesan inquiry was done in accordance with their rules, the congregation will grant the decree of validity which simply signifies that the processes done at the diocese were valid.

Fr. Silloriquez said that once the diocese receives the decree, it will have to prove in writing that indeed Camomot lived a holy life and practiced virtues in a heroic manner and that several favors were received by the faithful through him.

"After we are able to write this, we will return these (documents) to Rome, this will be studied again," he said.

Fr. Silloriquez likened the complex process that follows to that of writing a doctoral dissertation.

"The first to study are the nine theologians who will study them page by page, who will see every text and phrases," he said.

He added that after a thorough scrutiny, the theologians will have to vote whether to favor if indeed Camomot has lived a holy life or practiced heroic virtues. — /JBB (FREEMAN)