MANILA (UCAN): Bishop Pablo David of Kalookan, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines [CBCP], admitted on May 29, that the country’s bishops have failed to address contradictory views about an alleged Marian apparition, which recently led to the arrest of a priest.
Bishop David said the bishops should have facilitated dialogue to clarify ongoing confusion about the alleged Marian apparition in Lipa, Batangas, south of Manila.
“We humbly beg forgiveness for this shortcoming,” the bishop said.
A former Carmelite postulant named Teresita Castillo, claimed that the Virgin Mary appeared to her inside her convent room in 1948. People began to venerate Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Graces in Lipa, but after an initial investigation in 1951, the Vatican officially declared it “non-supernatural.” However, Philippine Catholics continue to be divided on the matter.
Dominican Father Winston Cabading, from the Archdiocese of Manila was arrested on May 13 for allegedly “offending religious feelings” when he purportedly called the apparition in Batangas “demonic.” The 57-year-old exorcist remained in custody until May 21.
“It [the division] may also be indicative of our own shortcomings as Church leaders in facilitating dialogue and fostering communion, especially when brothers and sisters in the same Catholic Church are in conflict with each other over matters of faith,” Bishop David said.
Following Father Cabading’s arrest, the Philippine Association of Exorcists and other lay groups rallied behind the priest.
Rome spoke on the matter in 1951 and reiterated its position in 2015 — namely, that the alleged Lipa [Batangas] apparition, on the basis of investigations in 1949, had been judged to have ‘no sign of supernatural character or origin
Bishop David
“We stand with Father Winston Cabading, OP, in his obedience and union with the pope and the Philippine bishops of the Catholic Church with regards to this issue,” the association said in a statement on May 26.
Bishop David said that the CBCP would not comment on the criminal case.
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Harriet Demetriu, a former trial court judge who complained against Father Cabading, said the Philippine hierarchy are spreading lies about the apparition.
“[Father] Cabading, and his fellow exorcists of the Archdiocese of Manila, and the powerful ally, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, are the purveyors of lies and falsehoods against our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces,” Demetriu told a press conference in Manila on May 27.
“The bottom line in my legal fight against Father Cabading is the vindication of truth in the apparition case,” she added.
Bishop David, however noted that Church authorities could have avoided the criminal complaint against Father Cabading if they had acted in time.
That a Catholic would feel the need to seek recourse to the civil court for an issue related to “matters of faith is extremely disheartening, to say the least,” he added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the court rules it to be beyond its competence.”
Bishop David said the bishops should have facilitated dialogue to clarify ongoing confusion about the alleged Marian apparition in Lipa, Batangas, south of Manila
The bishops urged Catholics to refrain from raking up the 1948 apparition as the matter was laid to rest by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1951.
“Rome spoke on the matter in 1951 and reiterated its position in 2015 — namely, that the alleged Lipa [Batangas] apparition, on the basis of investigations in 1949, had been judged to have ‘no sign of supernatural character or origin,’” Bishop David said.
The bishops’ admission of failures should be seen against the background of bishops in Batangas province reportedly tolerating the Marian veneration, attracting thousands including celebrities and politicians.
The confusion worsened in 1990 when then Archbishop Mariano G. Gaviola of Lipa, permitted the veneration of the image of Our Lady, four decades after it was banned.
In 2005, Bishop Cabrera Argüelles of Lipa said in a circular the he found no objection to the devotion and allowed it as long as it did not violate doctrine.
The bishop was overruled by the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 2016 and was reminded that the Vatican in 1951 declared the alleged apparition as “not of supernatural origin” and local bishops have no authority to overrule it.
The bishops’ admission of failures should be seen against the background of bishops in Batangas province reportedly tolerating the Marian veneration, attracting thousands including celebrities and politicians
However, Bishop David cautioned Catholics and exorcists not to refer to the apparitions as “demonic” in character.
“While Rome indeed judged the events in question to be natural in their character and origin, there is nothing in the said phenomenon to be ‘demonic’ in nature,” the bishop noted.
He said that the CBCP issued a pastoral advisory in 2015 asking the faithful to desist from making serious comments, especially on social media, about the apparition.
Up to now, we have “merely upheld the decision of Rome on the matter,” the prelate stressed.
The controversy failed to move people away from the veneration of Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Graces in Lipa.
“We read about Father Cabading’s case in the daily papers. But with or without the Church declaration, we are honouring the Blessed Mother here in Batangas,” Jenny Desacula said.
Desacula even claimed Rome’s ruling would not affect her devotion.
“The Vatican has decided that there is no supernatural origin. But if there is an effect of the apparition, it is the fact that many people in the province have developed a devotion,” she added. “That is, for us, the miracle.”
A group of Marian devotees said their devotion to the apparition and Mother Mary could not be measured by papal declarations and decrees.
“We still keep the images of Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Graces. They remind us of our love and devotion, a Manila parishioner, Freny Olayres, said
Olayres, however, added, “We are following the instruction from bishops that the images should not be connected to the [Batangas] apparition.”
