PHILIPPINES
Inquirer
By Tonette Orejas
Inquirer Central Luzon
5:20 am | Monday, June 24th
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said he had not tolerated erring priests in Pampanga, particularly those who had violated their vows of celibacy and poverty or committed indiscretions.
Aniceto, 76, issued the denial in reaction to a chapter in the book, “Altar of Secrets: Sex, Politics and Money in the Philippine Catholic Church,” by Aries Rufo, which put the spotlight on Catholic priests and parishioners in Pampanga.
“Was the Kapampangans’ forgiving attitude the reason behind Aniceto’s lax attitude as well? Regardless, critics said he perpetuated a problem by abusing the reverence that Pampanga Catholics reserved for their priests,” Rufo wrote in the chapter, “Leading double lives,” subtitled “Viral disease.”
The author quoted an unnamed Church official as describing the parishioners to have become “desensitized to the real situation.”
Sought for reaction, Aniceto, who oversees the archdiocese with 120 priests, said “every decision is contextual.”
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