PHILIPPINES
Manila Standard
By Jaime Pilapil
IF the entry of homosexual priests is a big no-no for the Catholic Church ministry, womanizers and those with too much “machismo” are equally banned from being ordained as priests.
“If homosexuals are no longer allowed to enter the seminary, then those who are too macho or well-known womanizers are equally not allowed to,” Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said over a radio interview on dzRV, a Catholic-run network.
Cruz said those filled with “machismo” are not good candidates for priesthood, and would most probably create scandals during their parochial ministry. “Womanizers or macho males would only victimize female church workers.”
Cruz gave this warning after Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Clergy, earlier said that his office will abide by the Vatican directive banning the entry of homosexuals to the seminary and their ordination to priesthood.
Meanwhile, Cruz defended Pasig Bishop Francisco San Diego, who was accused by a group of laymen for womanizing and living lavishly.
“It is impossible for Bishop San Diego to be dishonest on money. What he built was not his. On the sex scandal, he is already 70 years old. Whatever you do with it, it will not do any damage. In fact, he is limping already,” Cruz told reporters.