Parishioners' protest against priest

SOME parishioners of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Lutopan, Toledo City are up in arms against their newly assigned parish priest, Fr. Rolando Manayon. They want the priest to be investigated and possibly transferred. In their position paper addressed to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and to the Board of Consultors of the Cebu Archdiocese, the parishioners expressed their sentiments and concerns over Fr. Manayon's conduct and policies that might destroy the good and harmonious relationship between the Church and the Catholic faithful in the parish.

Fr. Manayon, together with Fr. Severino Escovido, were assigned in Lutopan September of last year following a massive revamp among parish priests undertaken by the Cebu Archdiocese. They replaced Fr. Domingo Tapic and Fr. Rogen Leyson, who served the parish for eight years and were loved by parishioners. Fr. Manayon, who was previous assigned in St. John of Sahagon parish in Toledo, was also a subject of the same complaint by his parishioners there.

One recent inhuman incident involving Fr. Manayon was the sudden and “unreasonable” termination of the services of two secretaries of the Catholic rectory in the parish.

Gigie Peralta and Mila Baylon spent decades of unselfish, honest and dedicated service to the parish despite the meager monthly remuneration they received. But days after the assumption of Fr. Manayon, their services were terminated without justifiable reason. When the two sough an explanation, Fr. Manayon reportedly shouted at them in front of many parishioners.

The priest reportedly told them, “Gusto ninyo nga labayon nako og yawe kanang inyong baba?” The priest accused them of theft without presenting evidence. Some parishioners suffered the same fate even for simple matters. The parishioners claimed Fr. Manayon is “weird” and is not approachable. Workers in the Catholic cemetery were not spared Manayon's “wrath.” He accused them of “theft” and terminated their services right away.

Fr. Manayon supposedly disagrees with the present rate of stipends for those who avail of the sacraments of matrimony, baptism and burial. He refuses to officiate mass if the parties cannot pay the required rate. Even the dead scheduled for burial cannot be brought inside the church if the relatives cannot pay P1,500.

Sa dihang gipangutana sa iyang mga parokyano nganong dili misahan ang patay kon dili makabayad ang tagtungod, miingon lang kuno ang pari nga, “Ah, patuga-tuga og kamatay nga dili man diay makabayad sa pagpamisa.” If this is true, pagkabati gud diay og batasan ning paria.

Meanwhile, the purpose of the creation of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is for consultation. But in the case of Fr. Manayon, when he calls for a meeting with PPC officers, no consultation reportedly happens because the priest already has prepared plans and wants the PPC to implement these as is. The parishioners said he is a kind of a dictator, claiming he is the “boss” and the sole decision-maker.

For reasons only known to him, Fr. Manayon decided not to continue the construction of the new parish church, which is already near completion.

The parishioners, in their position letter, claimed that the assignment of Fr. Manayon to their parish was a big mistake. Instead of promoting peace, harmony and good relations with the faithful, Fr. Manayon's questionable conduct could create animosity in the parish. They want Manayon to be out of their parish before things get worse.

Well, this is not the first time I received a complaint arising from a conflict between the parish priest and parishioners. But sad to say, the hierarchy of the archdiocese is not responsive to the demands of parishioners to pull out their priest to avoid further conflicts. The tendency is for Church officials to side with their priest even if he has committed wrongdoings that paint a negative image of the clergy and the Church.

Remember the case of the controversial Minglanilla priests? Despite the petition of many parishioners against the Team Ministry members, the Church leadership remained “deaf.” Maayo man lang ning taga simbahan motambag ba pero daghan pong salawayon diha nila.

Note: This space is open to Fr. Manayon's reaction.