By Lalita Aloor Amuthan
Home News Tribune
June 8, 2008
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080608/NEWS/80608011
PISCATAWAY —Cooled only by paper fans in the midday heat in the sweltering school gym,
hundreds of parishioners and supporters from neighboring parishes gathered Sunday to say goodbye and good luck to ""Father Ed."
About 500 supporters turned out as the Rev. Edgardo D. Abano, pastor at St. Frances Cabrini R.C. Church, gave his final Mass in the parish.
The priest, who has been on a leave of absence since he was accused of — but not indicted for — sexual misconduct, is leaving his post at the church, despite the vocal support of parishioners.
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| Father Edgardo Abano celebrates his final mass with the Saint Frances Cabrini Parish in the gymnasium of the Saint Frances Cabrini School Sunday in Piscataway. Photo by Jody Somers |
Abano expressed his thanks to the people who came out in support of him.
In his sermon during the noon Mass, he touched upon the topics of love and forgiveness and said, ""True love is revealed to us when life throws its worst at us."
He also spoke about ""hypocrites" and how they are despised even by sinners.
""We are here today not because we are hypocrites but because we are being honest with ourselves and to God," he said.
Abano was arrested in October after an adult male employee of the Diocese of Metuchen accused the priest of touching the employee's buttocks and breasts on multiple occasions in 2005.
According to the diocese, Abano voluntarily stepped aside from his position at St. Frances Cabrini upon his arrest. He has been on leave ever since.
In February, a Middlesex County grand jury declined to indict Abano after a key piece of evidence —a taped phone call between Abano and his accuser that was conducted in a Filipino dialect — was found to be erroneously translated by the prosecutor's translator.
The Mass was said in English but the hymns were in the Filipino language to accommodate the large numbers of Filipinos who had come from different parishes within the diocese to bid farewell to Abano.
Parishioner Tony Tamayo, an ardent supporter of the pastor, said ""It's a really sad day."
He added that Abano has influenced a lot of people and was one of the best pastors the church has had.
Asked what he thought about the allegations against the pastor, Tamayo said: ""I cannot pass judgment on that. Only God can do that."
Mike Smith, who lives in Bridgewater, said St. Frances Cabrini was the parish he grew up in, that Abano officiated at his marriage and baptized his son, and that he has ""the utmost respect" for him.
""It's sad to see him go, especially under these circumstances," he said.
Smith added that he doesn't know whether the allegations against the pastor are true or not, but it doesn't affect his opinion of his pastor.
""One of the things he always said was never to pass judgment on anyone and I don't want to pass judgment on him," Smith said.
In his closing remarks during the Mass, Abano told his supporters that the 16 years he spent at the parish have been a blessing to him.
""I have grown spiritually, ministerially and physically, but have also grown in love," he said.
He said the church had become his family and he looks forward ""to carrying all the happy memories of my years at the church" wherever he goes.
""For those of you I may have hurt or offended, I ask my forgiveness. I tried to do my best but if I have failed, I humbly ask your forgiveness," he said.
He thanked all who helped him and especially thanked the organizers for arranging the farewell event for him.
""Your coming here is really a manifestation of how much God cares for me," he said.
Kathy Santoro, a lifelong parishioner at St. Frances, said it was ""very sad" and ""a
shame" that the pastor was leaving under such circumstances.
""It's unfair that somebody falsely accused him, that's what led to the ripple effect,"
she said.
She added that there's not a person in the parish who believed the allegations to be true.
""We would trust our children with Father Ed any day of the week," she said.
Parishioner Pat Ciardi, 73, shared that sentiment.
""It's sad when someone can accuse you and you can never have your name fully cleared because there will always be doubters," she said with tears in her eyes.
She added that Abano had ""done wonders" for the church, ""opening it up for all of us to participate."
At the small reception held after the Mass, the principal of St. Frances Cabrini School, Kathy Hayes, wished Abano good luck ""as he discovers what it is he is meant to discover."
She added, tears welling in her eyes, ""As you said, there will always be times of testing. Thank you for giving us the gift of faith."
She presented him with a monetary gift from students and staff of the school.
Abano was also given monetary gifts from the parishioners and from the parish's Knights of Columbus group.
Some of the parishioners had earlier formed a group, Save Our Pastor, which runs a Web site and last month held a prayer vigil at the diocesan cathedral in Metuchen to call for Abano's return.
""We will continue to fight to bring him back," said parishioner Anne Carey, an organizer of the Save Our Pastor group.
Carey said Abano will leave for a year-long sabbatical in his native Philippines, and St. Frances Cabrini will be assigned a new priest.
""He's like my son. I'll always be in touch with him," she said.
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