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A. Paulita Roa

THERE is an old story that was often told to us by my father and his siblings about their grandaunt of the Roa y Racines side during the Spanish colonial era. She was a very pious woman who went to church daily for her house was located in the present campus of Lourdes College in Capistrano and Hayes streets. One day, as she knelt in the communion rail with eyes closed, praying silently while waiting for her turn to receive holy communion, she was rudely interrupted in her prayers when the priest told her in a loud voice her  that he will not give her communion because she spat on the church floor. She looked down and  was shocked to see a large spittle in front of her.

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The poor woman denied spitting inside the church but the priest continued to berate her in front of the congregation that she left right away and cried all the way home. The family was so incensed at the priest that they wrote a letter to the Governor General about the incident and mentioned the numerous abuses the cleric committed in Cagayan de Misamis. The result of their letter came as a surprise and a big blow to the family.The Governor General exiled them to Cebu for three months while their cura parroquo  continued to carry on with his  priestly duties.

Historian Filomeno M. Bautista wrote about a big historical event in 1875 when Maj. Jose de Carvallo was the military governor of the Misamis Province. The governor organized an expeditionary force for Jolo with 600 volunteers. He gathered them in Cagayan de Misamis and supervised their military training.But he did not go with his men in Jolo. Instead, it was the town’s parish priest, Fray Ramon Zueco who headed the military group together with Capt. Justiniano Abellanosa, 1st Lt. Carlos Racines, Lt. Vicente Fernanadez y Ramos, Lt. Santiago Roa and Lt. Bernardo Racines as the flag bearer. All the newspapers in Cebu and Manila were all praises for the courageous priest that it made Carvallo very angry.

When the victorious Fray Zueco and his men returned, they were given a heroes welcome by the whole town.They brought with them a Moro flag that they captured in one of their skirmishes in Jolo.The priest and the men marched proudly to Casa Real and stood there with their sabers drawn up in attention. They waited for a long time under the blazing sun for Carvallo to go out and greet them. After a long wait, the governor came out and angrily accused them of many things that were clearly all made up.After dismissing the volunteers, Fray Zueco rushed upstairs and had a heated discussion with Carvallo that lasted for hours. Thereafter, the priest went to Manila and when he came back, he brought with him the successor of the governor. Such is the power of the parish priest over a mere military governor!

In Cagayan de Oro as with the rest of the old towns in the country, the San Agustin church, the plaza now Gaston Park and the Casa Real, that is today’s City Hall, were designed and built as one complex. People believed that this was a convenient way for parish priests to monitor and participate in the affairs of government for during the Spanish colonial period for there was no separation of the church and the state.

Unfortunately, it has become part of our culture to allow the priests, nuns and bishops to be involved and interfere in government policies and political affairs. In fact, last election, the pulpit was used by the clergy to campaign for their choice candidates. Sadly, we see many individuals today who readily heed to what they say for they believe that the voice of the clergy is the voice of God. It is a carryover from the Spanish colonial times. However, our Constitution clearly states that there is a separation of the church and the state. This was clearly stated by our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte when he made his first State of the Nation address. However, he firmly declared that there should never be a separation between God and our state.

It is time for the nuns, priests and bishops to heed what Jesus Christ said, “Given to Caesar the things that belongs to Caesar and to God, the things that belongs to God.”

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