As I wrote in my column last week, the President is hosting her annual spiritual retreat with her Cabinet officials while she and the members of the First Family spend the Holy Week in Baguio City at the presidential Mansion House. As originally organized, the Chief Executive and her Cabinet are supposed to undergo tomorrow a spiritual "healing," with Fr. Corsie Legazpi as their retreat master.
But I learned yesterday that another priest, Monsignor Jerry Tapiador, has been invited to be the retreat master. My innocent inquiry about this from my friends at the Palace led to my discovery that Fr. Corsie has been unceremoniously "disinvited" to this spiritual retreat. I got in touch with Fr. Corsie who is a good friend of our Entertainment Editor Ricky Lo to check and find out what happened. I felt so guilty that I might have caused Fr. Corsie’s replacement after I mentioned it in my column.
From what I heard, it was Presidential Management Staff (PMS) chief Cerge Remonde who coordinated this with Fr. Corsie. Cerge has been the President’s coordinator with the Church leaders even before other people like Valdez came into the picture. After he has recently undergone a major surgery, Cerge has become closer to Fr. Corsie who is known as the "healing" priest. The PMS chief contacted Fr. Corsie from his Ministry of Healing in Binakayan, Cavite to tell him that President Arroyo would like to invite him as their retreat master for their annual Maundy Thursday retreat.
At the outset, Fr. Corsie was initially hesitant because he also has his annual tradition of holding sundown mass at his Ministry every Maundy Thursday. But Cerge convinced Fr. Corsie that the President personally wants him for this year’s retreat of her official family. Perhaps, Mrs. Arroyo heard about how Malacañang officials and employees were so spiritually uplifted after they underwent Fr. Corsie’s "stress management through meditation" seminar with them about three weeks ago at the Palace.
When he finally accepted the supposed presidential request, Cerge invited Fr. Corsie and Valdez to a sit-down dinner at the Manila Hotel on March 20 to finalize the program for the spiritual retreat. As agreed upon in that meeting, Fr. Corsie would even have with the President and her Cabinet members a "healing" mass at the end of the day.
Fr. Corsie last week got words from Valdez that the scheduled retreat would no longer push through because she told him most of the Cabinet officials were out of town. Fr. Corsie did not hide his dismay when Valdez sent two men and a woman to his Ministry to tell him about it. What further riled Fr. Corsie was when this female emissary sent by Valdez had the gall to pull out P500 bills from her bag and began telling him they would just give him money for his charity activities to apparently appease him for all the troubles they caused for the cancellation of his retreat services.
After sensing the rage she caused to the priest, Fr. Corsie recalled that this female emissary stepped out and called up somebody from her cellphone. A few minutes later, Valdez called up Fr. Corsie and told him that indeed his services would not be needed anymore. When Fr. Corsie asked Valdez if the President knows about this cancellation, he quoted her retorting to him bluntly: "This is my personal decision."
Fr. Corsie admitted he ended his cellphone conversation with Valdez with harsh words he now regrets having said in anger. But I could understand why he felt this way. When I called him up yesterday, he felt so sorry again to learn that Valdez even "lied" to him after I told him that the President’s retreat with her Cabinet members is pushing through contrary to what he was told.
Some people at the Palace regard so low their fellowmen and so arrogantly think they can buy people even those from the Church. Had they done their homework, they would have known Fr. Corsie never accepts payment for his priestly services.
The poor Fr. Corsie is even the subject of nasty talks being spread at the Palace as to why he was supposedly being replaced. But Fr. Corsie finds shield and comfort in the truth that he has helped many people through his "healing" ministry and continues to do so. I personally do not know Fr. Corsie except for the many testimonials I have read about him from Ricky Lo’s columns at The STAR. I was told by some of the people whose lives he has touched that he does not claim miracles. He gives credit to faith and prayers to those who come back to tell him they were cured of their illnesses and they were even spiritually enlightened.
Fr. Corsie started his "healing" ministry in 1989 and I was told people have to line up to get a schedule or appointment in his "healing" sessions because they are just so many asking his help for cure of their illnesses. People from all walks of life, here and abroad, go to his Ministry in Binakayan to attend his "healing" sessions. But Fr. Corsie is one who would not give false hopes for those afflicted with terminal cases like cancer.
In a light vein, Fr. Corsie in jest said that these Palace people will have to line up before they could see him again at his Ministry.
Write to marichu@philstar.net.ph