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By William B. Depasupil Reporter
Fr. Fernando Suarez may be the
most sought-after priest today, but some members of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) doubt his healing
powers.
Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros
complained that Suarez—whom some have called the “healing
priest”—was not following a Vatican rule on healing activities
that the Church, through the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith,
approved. The rule was signed by Pope Benedict XVI when he was still
a cardinal.
“I premise my answer on
document that accepts the possibility of healing,” Oliveros said
in a press conference Monday. “But whether this priest is the
instrument of God, we cannot say that right now.”
“I cannot unfortunately say
that [whether Suarez is a real healer], although some people claimed
they were healed. It needs further study, maybe, on the part of us
bishops,” Oliveros added.
He said Suarez violated paragraph
4 of Section 2 of the Instruction on Healing Activities of the
Doctrine of Faith, which requires priest healers to ask first for an
“explicit permission” from a bishop before one could conduct
healing masses in his diocese.
“There have been two instances
in the past when Fr. Suarez held healing masses in Bulacan without
asking for my permission,” said Oliveros, who has jurisdiction
over that province.
Because of Suarez’s violation,
Oliveros added, he was forced to order the cancellation of Mass
healing sessions scheduled in his diocese.
Oliveros said he would personally
write a letter to superiors of the religious community of
Suarez—the Companions of the Cross—to inform them of the alleged
violation of the Doctrine of Faith.
The organizers of the healing
Mass in Bulacan, Oliveros said, even “gave a piece of paper with
10 points. The first point is for them not to expect that the
collection will be given to the parish and the second point is, they
want a table where they can sell something. So I said, do not
proceed. I don’t need to know the rest. So for that reason, I
said, as a bishop, I’m canceling that scheduled healing Mass.”
Oliveros said the CBCP, as a
body, does not have a position on Suarez since the issue was not
raised during their semi-annual plenary assembly in Manila over the
weekend.
“I am speaking for myself and
as a bishop,” he said. “The possibility of healing through
prayers could be recognized, but it has yet to be determined through
investigation. In the case of Fr. Suarez, we don’t know yet if he
is instrument of God.”
Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio
Ledesma, CBCP vice-president, said Oliveros’ complaint was “a
message for Fr. Suarez that it’s good to continue the healing
Mass, but with proper procedures.”
On Suarez’ healing power,
Ledesma said the possibility of healing is always there. But
“because of experiences in the past, we have to be very careful
that people are properly given instruction [and] not to anticipate
instant miracles,” he said.
Earlier, Caloocan Bishop
Deogracias Yniguez Jr. hinted at the possibility of investigating
the reported miracles of Suarez, even as they recognize that he has
a special healing gift.
Yniguez, CBCP public affairs
head, said that while leaders of the country’s Catholic hierarchy
welcome the support shown by thousands of Filipinos to Suarez, they
are still “watchful” of his healing Masses and activities.
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