Cardinal On Dead Priest At Hotel: Let his soul rest in peace

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal asked the public especially those suspicious to Father Alexander Silvano Villamor Salve’s death to just let his soul rest in peace.

Father Salve, 52, was found dead Wednesday night inside one of the rooms of a downtown hotel. There have been a lot of speculations on his death.

“They should respect the dead. He (Salve) could not answer anymore because you cannot expect answers from the dead,” Vidal, in a television report, said.

Vidal said that all he knew was that Fr. Salve came to rest at the hotel after presiding over a baptism in barangay Tisa barely three hours before his death.

The Archbishop was also made to answer the reports about Fr. Salve only wearing his underwear when found.

“Well, I would ask you: How do you sleep?” he said in jest.

Vidal, nevertheless, admitted that there were some of the priests that have gone astray from the principles of the Catholic clergy and there were also issues on their vow of celibacy.

“We cannot deny that there are some lapses. Human as we are, if we’re not prayerful in our lives, something would happen,” he added.

Like Vidal, the families and friends of Salve also asked that the late priest be spared from any suspicions as to the circumstances surrounding his death.

They were deeply saddened of the reports as Fr. Salve was a very kind, friendly and helpful person.

The hundreds of people who attended the mass yesterday grieved for Fr. Salve’s death and said the negative reports about him will not lessen their respect and love for him.   The family has also reportedly declined to have Fr. Salve’s body autopsied turning down the request of the Cebu City Police Office.

Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, Director of CCPO, said that having Fr. Salve’s body undergo autopsy will help shed light on the circumstances that surround his death. Comendador said that while the doctors have already determined his death as due to natural causes, the autopsy will help them determine if he took any substance or liquid that could have trigger his heart attack.

The death certificate stated Salve, who underwent a heart by-pass last year, died of myocardial infarction, post coronary bypass and coronary artery disease.

Comendador said that they are now also primarily working on looking for the two women who alerted the security guard of the hotel about a guest, later identified as Salve, seemed to have suffered a heart attack in his room.

Yesterday, the body of Fr. Salve was brought to his hometown of Carmen after a mass, officiated by Monsignor Esteban Binghay, was held for him at the Santo Tomas de Villanueva Parish in Pardo, Cebu City.

Greeted with white tiny flags held by mourning relatives and friends, Fr. Salve’s body now lies at the St. Augustine Church in Carmen.

Salve, the youngest among four siblings, came from a religious family.

Jun Suan, driver of Fr. Salve, said that it wasn’t unusual for the priest to check into a hotel as he often does this. The driver said that Fr. Salve would decide to stay in a hotel so as not to bother his fellow priests at the convent.

In fact, he said, when they checked in at a hotel in Davao City, Fr. Salve also used the alias “Al Villa” as he allegedly did not want to be given any special treatment considering that he was a priest.

Lourdes Serba, one of the officers of the Parish, has observed that Fr. Salve kept on yawning the last time they talked Wednesday afternoon.

“Pagka-ikaupat na huy-ab niya nanampong na siya, so ningtuo g’yud ko na gikapoy na g’yud siya ato mao mi-check-in siya siguro kung asa duol na maka-rest siya,” she said.  (FREEMAN NEWS) —/NLQ