There was no video clip, no
recording whatsoever, but Rose (not her real name) still vividly remembers the
incident at the St. William’s Cathedral in Laoag a few years back.
There
were three other babies to be baptized that day and the priest asked for the
fathers to gather in front. When the priest saw that the young woman was alone
with her son, he asked where the father was. Rose, a single mom, said there
wouldn’t be anyone. Laughing sarcastically the priest asked, with the whole
congregation listening, “Apay, awan kadi isuna idi inaramidyo dayta?” (Why,
wasn’t he there when you did it?) The priest went on to publicly scold Rose,
who was left by her boyfriend even before she knew she was pregnant. The young
woman, made to feel ashamed of herself, was on the verge of tears while the
priest, insisting that a father is needed to raise the child, did not begin the
ceremony. It was then that Rose’s uncle stepped forward and asserted, “I’ll
stand up for this child.”
This
incident, dear karikna, is not an isolated case. I have personally talked
to other sources who have confirmed this priest’s habit of shaming single
mothers. And there are surely other members of the clergy who do the same and
prefer judgment and condemnation over God’s overflowing grace, love, and
compassion. One priest, also from the diocese, made another woman cry on a day
that should have been her happiest moment. Impatient about the wedding running
a few minutes late, the priest began the ceremonies even when the bride was yet
to arrive. The bride cried a river and ruined her make up, and not because of
joy.
As for
Rose who felt the hurt rushing back to her upon learning that a teenage mom was
similarly shamed in Cebu, she only wishes that no more person would be
subjected to the same public humiliation she went through. But because there
was no viral video to upload and no outrage from the public, this gun-toting
priest who once pointed one of his many firearms at another gun-owning priest
during an altercation, remains unlike Cebu’s Fr. Romeo Obach who has publicly
apologized, and even more unlike Pope Francis who finds no difficulty saying,
“Who am I to judge?”
He is
currently assigned in a garlic-producing town in southern Ilocos Norte.
Comments
Post a Comment