PHILIPPINES
The Gulf Today
By Manolo B. Jara August 01, 2017
MANILA: The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Monday ordered the suspension of a 55-year-old parish priest, also the president of a Catholic-run college, who was arrested by the police for allegedly soliciting the services of a 13-year-old girl.
In a statement, the CBCP also announced in its website, it would conduct a separate but parallel investigation with the police on the case of Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos who was arrested on Friday by the police in suburban Marikina City in Metro in Manila in the company of the girl aboard a vehicle on their way to a motel.
The CBCP named Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, its former president, to conduct a separate inquiry which, if found guilty, would lead to his dismissal from priesthood.
His suspension also meant Lagarejos was stripped of his priestly duties like celebrating mass, according to CBCP.
Earlier, Lagarejos was likewise relieved of his post as the president of the Cainta Catholic College in the town of Cainta, Rizal province in Southern Luzon where he was the concurrent parish priest.
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