CBCP takes blame for exorcist priest's case, begs forgiveness

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) took the blame over the court case Fr. Winston Cabading is facing, saying it may be due to the “shortcomings” of Church leaders.

An article by the CBCP News posted on Sunday read that CBCP president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said that Cabading’s case “may also be indicative of our shortcomings as Church leaders in facilitating dialogues.”

“We beg forgiveness for this shortcoming,” David said, stressing that the issue causes “a scandal to the faithful.”

Cabading, an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism (AMOE), was arrested at the Caleruega Church in Batangas on May 13 after a Quezon City court issued a warrant for his arrest. He posted bail and was freed on provisional liberty on May 15.

His arrest stemmed from a December 2022 complaint filed by former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chief Harriet Demetriou for allegedly violating Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code after his statements on the authenticity of the 1948 Lipa Apparitions were quoted in a digital Catholic show.

Demetriou, in her complaint, accused the priest of being a “rabid critic” of Mary and lambasted his comment that there exists a 1951 Lipa Diocesan Verdict that “negated the authenticity of the 1948 apparition of Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace.”

David, for his part, admitted that the CBCP is “perplexed” by the legal battle, considering that Catholics “are in conflict with each other over matters of faith.”

“This is specially true in the age of digital technology when individuals and groups that are for or against the issue can quickly react against each other in various social media platforms in a manner bereft of Christian charity,” the bishop said.

David further said he would not be surprised “if the court rules it to be beyond its competence”.

He, however, warned those who called the apparition “demonic.”

“The judgment as to whether the said events associated with the image were ‘demonic’ requires the serious discernment and guidance of bishops, who, up to now, have merely upheld the decision of Rome on the matter,” he said.

The Philippine Association of Catholic Exorcists and several other Catholic organizations earlier expressed their support for Cabading, saying the priest only echoed the church’s “definitive ruling” on the authenticity of the 1948 Lipa Apparitions. —LBG, GMA Integrated News