Priest in Tondo church scuffle suspended, barred from administering sacraments

The Archdiocese of Manila has suspended the priest involved in an altercation inside a church in Tondo, Manila and barred him from administering the sacraments.

According to the archdiocese, effective June 5, Rev. Fr. Alfonso Valeza was suspended from exercising his priestly faculties “because of his persistent defiance to the Archbishop of Manila despite orders and warnings.”

“He is therefore prohibited from administering the sacraments. Any sacrament he administers is illicit,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

Meanwhile, it said Valeza was relieved of his duties as parochial administrator of the St. Joseph Parish in Gagalingan, Tondo on June 3, Monday.

“From then on, any act he does in relation to the position is illicit,” it said.

Msgr. Reginald Malicdem, Fr. Nolan Que, and Fr. Gilbert Kabigting have been appointed as parochial administrators.

GMA News Online called St. Joseph Parish to ask for Valeza's comment on the decision of the archdiocese but was told that the priest was not present at that time.

Valeza was caught on video in a scuffle with Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias inside the parish.

The priest said the heated argument was about his ouster from the parish due to his accusations against alleged corrupt priests.

The archdiocese, however, denied that Valeza’s removal was related to the allegations.

Valeza was reportedly ousted from the parish after he failed to comply with Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula’s order for him in the past two years to undergo counseling due to his "unstable personality".—AOL, GMA Integrated News