Vidal silences priest, asks him to leave town for now
Aug 09, 2006
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal told Santander parish priest Fr. Jovencio Rabusa to no longer issue comments regarding the allegations made against him by some altar boys.
(Sun Star, August 09, 2006) Rabusa was also asked not to return to the southern town while some parishioners are still stirred up.
The cardinal’s gag order came on the same day former members of the Parish Pastoral Council took turns narrating abuses the priest allegedly committed, aside from the altar boys’ accusations that he hit and molested them.
At least 12 former members of the parish’s core group called for a press conference yesterday at a house in Barangay Bunlan in Santander.
Eugenia Culanag, 51, disclosed that 74 parishioners have either changed religion or stopped hearing mass because of the alleged abuses of Rabusa.
Seventeen altar boys also have grievances against Rabusa, who has been the parish priest of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish for nearly six years.
Culanag also clarified that Rabusa did not twist but only pinched her leg for her failure to attend one core group meeting. The incident happened last May 5.
However, that pinch resulted in bruise or hematoma, according to a medical certificate she got from the Oslob District Hospital.
Culanag had the incident recorded in the police blotter because it was a requirement to get a medical certificate.
In an earlier interview, Rabusa denied any inappropriate behavior in dealing with the parishioners and the altar boys. He said he only wanted to “instill discipline with love.”
He is willing to be transferred as long as the family of the altar boy he allegedly punched for giving him the wrong booklet during a Sunday mass will not press charges.
The priest is now in Cebu City after he met with Cardinal Vidal yesterday morning.
Outside the church in Santander, some supporters of Rabusa said they are hurt by the allegations hurled against their parish priest.
One woman who refused to be named said those who have accused the priest of verbal and physical abuse are “anti-Church.”
Another defended Rabusa’s actions, saying the priest only wants to instill discipline just as a parent would to a child.
They said some may have only misinterpreted Rabusa’s “discipline of love” as abusive.
But for Culanag, her absence in the core group meeting was because of a previous incident where she said the priest hurt her emotionally.
Eugenia recalled that last April, she wanted to have her grandchild baptized but only to be badmouthed by Rabusa since her daughter does not have a husband.
“Nganong nibilangkad man ka (Why did you open your legs)?” she recalled Rabusa’s question for her daughter during the pre-Jordan seminar.
Eugenia just wanted to keep the matter quiet but it was her husband Pedro who was more irked.
Eugenia and Pedro sought the help of Msgr. Cayetano Gelbolingo, parish priest of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, to bring the matter up to Cardinal Vidal.
But Pedro said they have not received an answer yet.
Laura Caro also alleged that Rabusa curses and enforces a specific donation every collection.
Rabusa’s alleged tantrums also caused Adolfa Culanag, 51, to change religion.
She said she tried informing Rabusa of the death of her mother in June 2003 so a mass could be scheduled. However, she could not get hold of the priest for three days since he was either out of the convent or resting.
When Adolfa finally talked with Rabusa, the latter allegedly got mad for informing him too late.
She buried her mother in a Catholic cemetery but left the Catholic faith immediately after that.
She is now a protestant, a member of the Church of Christ. She has no complaints, so far, of her new Church.
For her part, Vitaliana Serencio narrated that she and Rabusa had an altercation over a procession that she suggested to pray for the rising dengue cases in Santander.
In one homily, Serencio said the priest berated her indirectly.
She approached the priest after the mass to clear the air, but it resulted in an exchange.
Hermosa Lozano also said Rabusa slapped an acolyte at the nape that almost caused the latter to fall from the stairs.
The reason for the slapping was that the acolyte failed to wake up early, said Lozano.
A Sun.Star news team visited Rabusa’s convent to get his side on the issue but an aide said it was the priest’s day off.
Vidal silences priest, asks him to leave town for now