BREAKING Archbishop Orders Closure of Church and Public Penance Following Alleged Influencer Desecration of Holy Water Font
A social media influencer allegedly spat into a Holy Water font in a Catholic Church in the Philippines. The video went viral on the internet. In response, the local archbishop, of the southern Philippines, ordered the temporary closure of the historic parish (SEE Official Decree at Bottom).
(VIDEO Images of the alleged desecration below)
Archbishop Martin Sarmiento Jumoad condemned the “grave act of sacrilege committed by an individual who spat at the holy water font” of Saint John the Baptist Parish in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental.The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines also noted the incident citing the Archbishop on their Website:
“Immediate confession and sincere repentance are required to restore one’s standing in the community of faith,” the archbishop added. Jumoad also called for renewed reverence and spiritual commitment among the faithful. “Sacred objects and places are vessels of God’s grace and deserve our utmost respect and reverence,” he said.
The 28-year-old influencer, Christine Medalla, denied the allegation that she spat into the parish’s holy water font, according to a report by the government-run Philippine News Agency. (SEE Video of the incident above)
“I just took an envelope and then returned it immediately. I looked at the holy water because I made a wish. That’s all,” Medalla said in media interviews of the PNA.
In the decree ordering the temporary closure, the archbishop cited the Code of Canon Law, which states in Canon 1211: “Sacred places are violated by gravely injurious actions done in them with scandal to the faithful, actions which, in the judgment of the local ordinary, are so grave and contrary to the holiness of the place that it is not permitted to carry on worship in them until the damage is repaired by a penitential rite according to the norm of the liturgical books.”
Archbishop Jumoad said the parish “shall remain closed until further notice as a sign of penance and reparation.” “This is to invoke conversion of heart and communal purification as guided by Catholic teaching.”
He also held a Holy Hour of Adoration and Solemn Confessions, “to foster repentance, seek forgiveness, and restore the sanctity of the parish.”
He also mentioned Canon 1369, which states: “A person who profanes a sacred object, moveable or immovable, is to be punished with a just penalty.”
In addition the archbishop will only allow the reopening of the parish “after appropriate acts of penance are observed by the faithful, including participation in the Holy Hour and confessions, as well as after due pastoral assessment.”
“A serious warning is hereby extended to the individual responsible: The act of profaning sacred objects, such as the holy water font, constitutes grave sin and desecration (cf. CCC 2139) and incurs not only ecclesiastical penalties but endangers the sinner’s communion with the Church and God. Immediate confession and sincere repentance are required to restore one’s standing in the community of faith,” Jumoad said.
“By this decree, may the faithful be reminded that sacred objects and places are vessels of God’s grace and deserve our utmost respect and reverence. Let us all renew our commitment to holiness, reverence, and communal harmony,” he added.
The historic Saint John the Baptist Parish, built in 1862, is recorded as a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines in 2001.
The government’s local tourism leader stated, “I am deeply saddened by the immediate closure of our beloved National Historical Treasure, the John the Baptist Church in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, due to an irresponsible act of sacrilege by a female vlogger who desecrated the holy water font,” said Department of Tourism Director Marie Elaine Unchuan in a PNA report.
The Philippines, has about 86 million Catholics, and is known for its deep Catholic faith.
“I just took an envelope and then returned it immediately. I looked at the holy water because I made a wish. That’s all,” Medalla said in media interviews of the PNA.
In the decree ordering the temporary closure, the archbishop cited the Code of Canon Law, which states in Canon 1211: “Sacred places are violated by gravely injurious actions done in them with scandal to the faithful, actions which, in the judgment of the local ordinary, are so grave and contrary to the holiness of the place that it is not permitted to carry on worship in them until the damage is repaired by a penitential rite according to the norm of the liturgical books.”
Archbishop Jumoad said the parish “shall remain closed until further notice as a sign of penance and reparation.” “This is to invoke conversion of heart and communal purification as guided by Catholic teaching.”
He also held a Holy Hour of Adoration and Solemn Confessions, “to foster repentance, seek forgiveness, and restore the sanctity of the parish.”
He also mentioned Canon 1369, which states: “A person who profanes a sacred object, moveable or immovable, is to be punished with a just penalty.”
In addition the archbishop will only allow the reopening of the parish “after appropriate acts of penance are observed by the faithful, including participation in the Holy Hour and confessions, as well as after due pastoral assessment.”
“A serious warning is hereby extended to the individual responsible: The act of profaning sacred objects, such as the holy water font, constitutes grave sin and desecration (cf. CCC 2139) and incurs not only ecclesiastical penalties but endangers the sinner’s communion with the Church and God. Immediate confession and sincere repentance are required to restore one’s standing in the community of faith,” Jumoad said.
“By this decree, may the faithful be reminded that sacred objects and places are vessels of God’s grace and deserve our utmost respect and reverence. Let us all renew our commitment to holiness, reverence, and communal harmony,” he added.
The historic Saint John the Baptist Parish, built in 1862, is recorded as a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines in 2001.
The government’s local tourism leader stated, “I am deeply saddened by the immediate closure of our beloved National Historical Treasure, the John the Baptist Church in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, due to an irresponsible act of sacrilege by a female vlogger who desecrated the holy water font,” said Department of Tourism Director Marie Elaine Unchuan in a PNA report.
The Philippines, has about 86 million Catholics, and is known for its deep Catholic faith.
https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/ozamis-archbishop-orders-closure-of-desecrated-church/
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