While suicides have become more than common these days because of various factors, a recent one is turning more heads than usual.
Because this time it was a priest who killed himself.
The victim was identified as Rev. Fr. Decoroso Jurban Olmilla, 68, also known as “Father Cocoi”, a resident priest of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
He was found dead inside his condominium in Barangay Mabolo last Wednesday morning from a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck.
The Cebu Archdiocese has issued a statement regarding the incident.
"The Archdiocese of Cebu is deeply saddened by the untimely demise of one of its own ordained priest(s). An in-depth investigation into the untimely death of +Rev. Fr. Decoroso "Cocoi" Olmilla has revealed that his mental health collapsed and he has succumbed to the unexpected tragic end of taking his own life," part of the statement read.
Don’t get us wrong here. We won’t call Olmilla weak for doing what he did. We don’t know what he was going through in his life in comparison to what we are going through in ours.
We just want to point out that even men of the cloth, those that laymen deem are closer to God than others, can even have dark thoughts and, sadly, can also be pushed to desperation and take their own lives.
Those of us in the Catholic faith regard priests as indispensable guides in our journey through life. We turn to them for answers. And indeed, many of them provide not just wise counsel but also comfort during trying times. Which is why this suicide is doubly tragic. Here was someone who provided counsel and comfort to others, but who, somehow, couldn’t find that counsel and comfort for himself.
And the thing is that Olmilla isn’t the only one priest to take his own life this year. Two priests in India took their own lives earlier this year, as well as another priest in Italy last July.
If anything else, this should teach us that we all need to look at our mental health every once in a while and unburden ourselves of psychological baggage, even those of us who may seem closer to God.