There has been a lot of hemming and hawing about whether or not there really was an order by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal prohibiting priests under his jurisdiction from celebrating Mass in connection with the visit to Cebu last Monday of Jun Lozada.
We do not think Vidal would go to the extent of giving such an order. But so what if he did? In the final analysis, the good cardinal should be praised for giving such an order, instead of being condemned by those who have been blinded by self-righteous politics.
If Vidal did give such an order, then Cebuanos now owe their archbishop a deep sense of gratitude for saving them from the fate that has befallen some parts of the country who, in their blindness, have confused Jun Lozada as Jesus Christ.
It is the great misfortune of this country of ours, once known proudly as the Cradle of Christianity in Asia, that some of its bishops, priests and nuns are in the forefront of dismantling what has been built over the centuries for just one brief fling with a jerk called Jun Lozada.
Why should a Mass be held for Jun Lozada? Isn't he the same sinner just like the rest of us? But why is he so easily forgiven? Is that all it takes to forgive, just a public acknowledgement? Or is it being on the same side of the political fence?
If all it takes to forgive sin is a public acknowledgement, then let us all make public acknowledgements of our own sins and scrap the holy sacrament of confession because that is the signal the bishops, priests and nuns who are behind the beatification of Jun Lozada are giving.
And since these same bishops, priests and nuns are trying to raise funds for Jun Lozada, then maybe all of us who think otherwise and do not believe in being led anywhere by this person and this group should stop giving anything to the church lest what we give end up in the wrong hands.
We have always believed that God works in mysterious ways and maybe Jun Lozada has been sent here on earth with a purpose, to shake a faith in such a way that the hypocrites in cassocks and habits, the wolves in sheep's clothing, so to speak, would finally be exposed.