DUMAGUETE CITY – Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete is not amenable to the idea of priests bearing arms for protection even as the Catholic Church in the Philippines has condemned the recent murders of a number of clergymen.
“I personally do not agree with the need that (us) priests should arm ourselves in the sense that our trust should be in the Lord,” Bishop Cortes said in an interview on Tuesday afternoon, following the monthly meeting with the Dumaguete clergy.
Bishop Cortes added: “We are ministers of the Lord and we believe that the Lord will take care of us. If something happens, then that’s the whole part of the scheme of things.”
His pronouncement came after one of the priests in the Diocese of Dumaguete confirmed having received death threats in recent weeks from unknown persons.
Fr. Sulpicio Vincoy of the St. Vincent Ferrer Chaplaincy in Barangay Camanjac, Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental on Tuesday also reiterated that he does not find it necessary to arm himself because he trusts in Divine Providence to protect him from his detractors.
He believes the threats were in relation to his strong advocacy and involvement in the move by residents and other groups/individuals to oppose the proposed establishment of a sanitary landfill by the city government in the adjacent village of Candauay and partly in Camanjac.
Fr. Vincoy, however, declined to comment further.
Bishop Cortes, having learned about the threat to Fr. Vincoy’s life, has expressed gratitude that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is already investigating the case.
“I’m personally relieved that it has been reported to the NBI,” Cortes said.
Asked about some of the priests assigned to the mountains or in areas that have unfavorable environments, the Dumaguete prelate said that “some of the priests perhaps may feel the need of having arms and I personally respect (that) as long as they possess these firearms legally.”
“I remind them that we do not need it but at the same time I respect their personal need for it, the sense of security that it gives them,” he said.
The recent killings of priests in the Philippines, according to Bishop Cortes, has not dampened their enthusiasm to serve.
“No, of course not. In fact, if there are priests who have guns, probably they are just a dime a dozen and not a significant number. And inspite of what is happening now, the enthusiasm for the ministry, I believe, has not been affected,” he said.
“There may be questions in terms of responses in the church but the pastoral letter issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is a very good guide,” he said.
The CBCP pastoral exhortation dubbed “Rejoice and Be Glad” calls for prayers and fasting as a response to the “troubled times” in the country, rather than fighting battles with guns and bullets. (PNA)
