Thieves ransack Nueva Vizcaya chapel, tabernacle with consecrated hosts

Workers from Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in the town of Sta. Fe in Nueva Vizcaya discovered on Monday that a chapel was ransacked by thieves, who destroyed the tabernacle and scattered consecrated hosts on the floor.

“Nadatnan [ng tauhan ng Parokya] na sira na ang kandado, ang kapilya at opisina ay nilooban, ang mga kagamitan ay nagkalat, ang tabernakulo ay sinira, at ang Banal na Sakramento ay ikinalat sa sahig,” the Diocese of Bayombong said in a statement posted on Tuesday.

([The parochial staff] saw that the lock was broken, the chapel and offices were ransacked, the items inside were thrown around, the tabernacle destroyed, and the Holy Sacrament on the floor.)

The diocese condemned the blasphemous act.

"Tayo pong mga Katoliko ay naniniwala na ang Banal na Sakramento ay hindi lamang po simpleng tinapay kundi totoong katawan ni Kristo na ating Panginoon. Kaya naman ang nangyari ay matinding dagok para sa atin bilang mananampalatayang Katoliko," the diocese said.

(We Catholics believe that the Holy Sacrament is not simply a piece of bread but the body of Christ our Lord. That is why the incident is a big obstacle for us Catholic believers.)

Catholics believe in transubstantiation, which occurs within the Mass, wherein the host is transformed into the Body of Christ.

Devotees of a parish church in Nueva Vizcaya would have to do acts of reparation or acts of penitence to make up for the offenses committed, namely: the chapel was trespassed and the tabernacle was destroyed.

Said acts include the closure of the chapel, public penance through three or more Via Crucis, confessions outside the chapel, and a Holy Mass to bless a new tabernacle.

Meanwhile, the diocese said that they have coordinated with the authorities regarding the matter and called the public to provide any possible information to Fr. Virgilio Mendoza, OFM, the parish priest of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/BAP, GMA Integrated News