Yesterday, the news about the arrest of Binangonan native Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos broke out. Amongst many people, our family is also shocked. Although the Archdiocese of Antipolo has issued a statement requesting parishioners not to comment and to just pray for the truth to come out, I want to say something.
Arnel is personally known to me and to Edmund. He was the one who blessed Ford Cainta. He blessed Ford EDSA too.
My sister told me that a common friend and his relative allegedly saw him at a restaurant acting in a manner not befitting a man of God. The witness is not one person who would invent or exaggerate stories. I did not condemn Monsignor Lagarejos after I heard that story. Human frailty, hard to resist temptation maybe. I just secretly wished and prayed that whatever that was, was past and that he was not doing it anymore.
I am not saying that Arnel is guilty of the child-trafficking charges being leveled against him now. Sana nga ay hindi totoo.
We’ve heard of many priests with live-in partners, children, girlfriends. Edmund said we go to church not to idolize the priests but we’re there due to our strong faith in God. Clergies are humans and as sad as it is, a lot of them falter. Their souls are weak. However they should recognize this and leave the Catholic Church right away. Yes, we do understand that they have physical and sexual needs. But get out of the church. Go get married. Do not act holy then behind the altar you s__k and f__k.
I want to say in general terms and without specifically referring to any one, that I do not have any compassion for people who use children to satisfy their carnal desires. I consider men who molest young girls or even older girls as demons and sex maniacs.
Bakit mga bata pa? If sex is what you want, ang dami-dami namang babaeng naghahanap rin ng good time. Ang dami-daming prostitute naglipana ang mga pekpek. Ang dami-daming malalanding mga babae naghahanap din, bakit ba bata pa ang mga tinatarget nyo? May sira ang inyong mga ulo. Bakit naghahanap kayo ng mga bata? Ano, virgin?
People don’t realize how angry I am with child molesters, molesters in general, rapists, sex maniacs. I condemn in the strongest possible terms men / women who take advantage of children. Mga $#@%&^&^%$#@! nyo. May your souls burn in hell.
🙁
We too, had received stories from an authoritative source long time back which we had just shrugged it off and treat it as make believe story and mere common gossip.
The story came directly from a church worker from
Antipolo noong naka assign pa ang pari sa simbahan na iyon. During one of their frequent visits to the US (10-year tourist visa holders) and knowing we are from Binangonan too, na kwento sa amin ang talagang personal na observation nila sa tunay na persona ng pari as seen by their own eyes.
Na mention pa nga tungkol sa financial aspect which involved the priest families back in Binangonan. We’re not judging anyone as there’s no nobody’s perfect while we’re in our mortal state.
Pero, to save the overall image and tarnish the gospel of Christ, let them dis-robed, hubarin na ang abito and leave, which to people of the church is a great source of power and wealth at the expense of the church goers tithes, alms & contributions.
Considering the priest’s close affinity to the political heirarchy in the town and the province as well as the Catholic Church’s close relationship with the “haves” , many are saying that all these will only end up in legal trashbin.
Church and political establishment can fool people sometimes but they can never fool people all the time. They are of the same skin.
Dear Boy,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Priests who enjoy the trappings of wealth must not be priests because their lifestyles are not in accordance with their vow of living in simplicity. It’s sad if some priests see their position as a source of financial income for their families.
My Personal Opinion:
Filipino Catholic Priest With Doctorate In Theology Disgraced By Sinful Sex With A Child(?) is unbelievable and unthinkable to me. Disgusting and shocking to all of us.
I am personally, morally and spiritually distraught of this nightmare of news here in the Philippines. Until now I can’t believe it. Can we still trust the priests?
Let us be reminded by Jesus, The Alpha & Omega, “If anyone causes one of these little ones–those who believe in me–to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
This is indeed utterly shameful to Catholic Church here in the Philippines and universally.
I am writing my personal opinion, however, not based on judgment, but we must be very careful in relation to Matthew 7:1-6 – for who are we to judge? since we’re all sinners too, however, quite strongly based on evidences as presented in the news, actually axiomatic or self-evident and thus, of course, based on the ongoing news, and indeed this is a bad news which I deplore like a nightmare.
Pedophile priests whether they are in higher echelons such as the Bishops, Archbishops, or Cardinals are some of the “rotten eggs” of the Catholic Church since the past decades. Or as Pope Francis says, pedophile priest is a ‘leprosy’ infecting the Catholic Church – Pope Francis: One in 50 priests is a paedophile. My God! What do you think is the main cause of the problem? We have to diagnose it and help those pedophile priest out of the moral trap they find themselves among other vices they have such as gambling, smoking cigarettes and drinking liquor, and at times their luxurious lifestyles as self-destructive to their vocations to bring God to souls and souls to God. Hindrances are many. They can hardly bring souls to God, to eternal life, but, God forbid, they might souls to hell.
This is a tragedy involving the name of Catholic Church here in the Philippines and it causes a universal wound to Catholic Faith that can hardly be healed over time. Naturally, the Catholic Church should defend its priests, its members from any attack whether the accusations or the allegations are true or not or simply exaggerated even to the point of usual cover-ups, quite understandably.
The priest is claimed or known to be, in the Catholic Liturgy as another Christ – https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/Story/TabId/2672/ArtMID/13567/ArticleID/8029/Priest-Alter-Christus.aspx, hence, – acting in “persona Christi” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_persona_Christi, and believed to be trans-subtantiate the ordinary unleavened bread into the BODY, BLOOD, SOUL, DIVINITY OF CHRIST – ‘Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity’: The Miracle and Gift of the Most Holy Eucharist – Living Faith – Home & Family – News – Catholic Online
This liturgical teaching of the Catholic Church is not acceptable to other Christian religions, sects and to other traditional religions in the world. But in any case, the Catholic priest is known to be revered as reverend and holy man of God according to the order of Melchisidech – BUT, what the turn of events has been inverted and they become, whether they are obsessed or possessed by satan, not just merely by fleshy desires or sex desires- being also human, with the causal effect of the hereditary nature of man, they become, ipso facto, also like any other ordinary mortal sinners like us, and even might be worse than us and might become another anti-christ – alter anti-christus acting in persona anti-christus – https://www.jesus-is-lord.com/decept82.htm
My personal opinion is like this: Well, we’re all sinners , undeniably, according Romans 3:23, and this priest in question below with position, is also a human being, person, he is not stone or a rock. He has flesh and blood. Priests have so many struggles day and night, every single hour. Priests can become LIKE CHRIST OR BECOME LIKE ANTI-CHRIST anytime. So the faith must in obedience and must be round-the-clock also.
I lived in the Seminary for almost 5 years, more than 20 years ago also for a priestly vocation but due to some problems such as finance and health and problems with some priests,etc. my vocation to priesthood was not materialized. I tried to also enter to other seminaries. But I was not chosen although I was also called. I know the CHARACTERS OF HOLY PRIESTS AND I ALSO KNOW THE CHARACTERS OF THE OF BAD PRIESTS. I met holy and bad priests. I went along with holy and bad priests. It is true that the life of the priest is lonely in the difficulty of observing their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience and not being PERMITTED by CANON LAW to marry – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy – / http://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2010/09/30/celibacy-and-the-priesthood/
Now, practically, although it is not also easy, if the ordained is no longer comfortable to his priestly ministry, and seemed to be burned out or burned by the mixed up of a marriage call, or by heat of the passion of the fleshy desires which are usually temporary only being of human nature, then the priest must seek permission from the Vatican, pe se, from the Pope, endorsed by his bishop, and be cleared, and if permitted. which reportedly there have been some priests who have been permitted to marry after studying their cases. And this way, the priests can prevent themselves from the likelihood of sinning that usually lead them to a disgraceful tragedy of scandals – http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/scandal1 / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_sexual_abuse_cases / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_sex_abuse_cases_by_country / http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/priest-boston-sex-abuse-scandal-released-prison-48913248
Scandals are terrible and rampant everywhere, the brutal truth of the saddest reality, sometimes, they are unpardonable or unforgivable. Scandals take time to heal and discard into the dustbin of history.
Now, this Filipino priest, who was revered very much by the parishioners, by people who knew/know him well and of course also contributed a lot for the Church and for the parishes he was to before, in the administrations of the Sacraments– the channels of God’s grace, has,. unfortunately, created his own self-destruction or auto-destruction, by accidents, fell short of his judgement and entrapped by his own follies. And that if he ever wanted to have sex, well, literally, in the common understanding of people, why not just get out from priesthood and get married? Some Catholic priests, well, reportedly, are keeping their mistresses – http://www.thedailybeast.com/vatican-mistresses-to-francis-make-honest-women-out-of-us. Some Catholic priests are secretly married – http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pope-married-priests-2017-story.html
This sex scandal issue is not only for the Catholic priests of the Catholic Church, but also for other Christian pastors, ministers, imams of the Islamic religion and rabbis of the Jewish religion and all other religions to be very careful about sex matters. We have too much scandals about sex matters. There are tsunamis of scandals everywhere as rampant as wild as they are infinitely. All religions and their leaders have their own unfortunate and tragic scandals. SCANDALS are, sometimes, or either or both, SEX AND MONEY destroying, by their own free-will, consent and knowledge, their vocations, their ministries and their dignity, their very lives and their credibility with foreseeable certainty of more miseries and agonies as long as they live. Equally to married life with the same scandals involving children and families, however, lesser than the SCANDALS CREATED BY THE RELIGIOUS MEN AND LEADERS OF THE CHURCHES AND RELIGIONS causing discord, friction, and even loss of faith or apostasy of the members of certain religions or faiths.
In addition to my personal opinion with due respect and with prayers, as well, that THOSE RELIGIOUS PEOPLE, LEADERS, PRIESTS, BISHOPS, ARCHBISHOPS, CARDINALS, PASTORS, MINISTERS, IMAMS, RABBIS AND OTHER SPIRITUAL LEADERS, DO NOT USE THE MONEY OF YOUR CHURCHES FOR ‘SEX’ particularly of this nature, AND THUS CREATING SCANDALS WITH TRIBULATION TO YOUR LIVES AND TO YOUR CHURCHES YOU BELONG TO WITH SEEMINGLY APOCALYPTIC PROPORTION TO FAITH.
Here in the Philippines, we still have good and holy priests and pastors and ministers, imams as well, and thanks God, BUT IF SEX SCANDALS WILL CONTINUE AND OR PEDOPHILE ACTS WITH CHILDREN WILL CONTINUE TO BECOME PESTIFEROUS, THEN HOW CAN WE EXPECT THE ‘RESPECT TO OUR FILIPINO WOMEN AND CHILDREN and young people FROM THE FOREIGN LANDS, IF WE OURSELVES ARE ABUSING OUR WOMEN BY WAY OF PEDOPHILE ACTS AND SEXUAL SCANDALS.
IT IS TIME FOR THE CATHOLIC PRIESTS, IF THEY CAN’T CONTINUE THEIR MINISTRY OR VOCATION TO PRIESTHOOD, THEN THEY SHOULD GET OUT AND MARRY , AND HAVE A FAMILY THAN TO REPEATEDLY FALL INTO THE SINS OF SEXUAL SCANDALS THAT TERRIBLY ROCK THE CHURCH, THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND SCANDALIZE THE YOUNG PEOPLE to the core. YOUNG PEOPLE MAY LOSE TRUST TO THE PRIESTS and they might listen to their sermons or advice. This is all very delicate.
IF THE CATHOLIC PRIESTS IN THE THIRD VATICAN COUNCIL (Vatican III) WILL BE ALLOWED, QUITE INDEFINITELY OR BY CHOICE, TO GET MARRIED WHILE REMAINING IN THE MINISTRY, then that might be another issue in the Catholic Church. There are signs to change the Catholic Church to save their religious people. This may be good but will also create other problems.
THE PRESENT CATHOLIC CHURCH IS HEAVILY ROCKED BY MONEY AND SEX SCANDALS that soon apostasy is becoming like a conflagration of fire with eternal impacts.
Others might consider to give comments, in majorem cautelam, however and see what we can do to help stop sex scandals in the Catholic Church and to all churches if possible, whether it is all caused by modernism, liberalism, or moral laxity or the new age doctrines or simply the urging of the flesh or the adroit temptations of satan to religious leaders and their inability to resists temptations of the flesh, the world and the devil.
We are in the nightmares in the 21st century with all forms of evils and endless crisis, other than we are in great dying of our culture and morals. Can we survive? Is there still hope?
Can we end sex scandals by studying the ‘THEOLOGY OF THE BODY’ OF POPE ST. JOHN PAUL II?
Lastly as I also encourage praying for the suspect-priest and for the victims whom I think this priest has been doing it for a quite long time already, by defects and by other reasons. I am also asking personal questions to all concerned. Your own personal opinion, analysis, or evaluation of the present situations, per se, the global situations.
Are we getting well or worse? Do we still have hope coming? What is or what are our personal proposed alternative(s). I think I need, before I hibernate these days, for a week time, 1,000 PERSONAL RESPONDENTS OR RESPONSES OR REPLIES FOR COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS.
Taytay priest nabbed for ‘booking’ 13-year-old girl
Taytay priest nabbed for ‘booking’ 13-year-old girl
Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos has been relieved of all his designations in his diocese, Antipolo Bishop Francisco de…
No VIP treatment for priest arrested with minor in Marikina
Parish priest accused of abusing minor
Parish priest accused of abusing minor
No VIP treatment for priest arrested with minor in Marikina
By INQUIRER.net
The priest arrested last Friday while allegedly on his way to a motel with a 13-year-old girl is being kept with…
Because of Facebook:? That’s all we get from Facebook for most of the times wrong uses.
Facebook is not ideal. I am asking people to stop using facebook. There are also so many dangers involved in facebooking. Don’t be idiotically duped by facebook. Stop it!
A Catholic Priest of high position 3 times having a phedophile acts with the 13-year-old child.
Priest Entrapment Operation of Msgr Arnel Lagarejos. Lagarejos holds a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and a licentiate in theology from the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City, according to his profile on the CCC website.- Child abuse – TV Patrol: Suspek na pari, nagbayad ng P500 para sa 13 anyos
To Catch a Priest | Taytay Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos
To Catch a Priest | Taytay Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos
Filipino Priest Arnel Lagarejos HUMAN TRAFFICKING 13-year old http://mattersindia.com/2017/07/filipino-priest-su…
TV Patrol: Suspek na pari, nagbayad ng P500 para sa 13 anyos
Sa halagang P500, ipupuslit na sana ng 55 anyos na si Msgr. Arnel Lagarejos ang isang menor de edad sa isang mot…
The Diocese of Antipolo (Rizal Province, Philippines) said in a July 29 statement that it is also looking into the matter.
“We assure the public that we respect the necessary procedures as provided by law in order to further investigate the matter,” the diocese said. “Let us refrain from issuing unnecessary comments that might worsen the situation. Instead, we appeal for all the faithful to pray that the truth may come out.”
With high respect to the BISHOP OF ANTIPOLO, RIZAL DIOCESE, yes, we pray, but THE TRUTH HAS ALREADY COME OUT AS WE SEE IN OUR PLAIN EYES. Veritas et Liberavit: ” Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”John 8:32
How many more pedophile priests or priests involved in sexual scandals here in the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Are there more around us?
REPENT! “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:3
Lastly, and this is a strong reminder to all, it is not enough to teach that God is only LOVE or about love or but also GOD IS THE GOD OF JUSTICE – https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God,-Justice-Of
I write this article for all people, ecumenically speaking so that all of us will pray and help one another to become good for all humanity.
I am sad reading this news. I am praying also that this thing shall end here in the Philippines for God’s sake, for our nation, for our young people and for our families.
I hope and pray this will not happen ever again in the future. We must do all our efforts to stop it.
May God forgive us if we truly contrite of heart to repentance lest we fall into final impenitence.
We must be seriously responsible to our own actions and prepare for judgment of God which is coming very soon.
Dear Eric,
Hi, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Let the truth surface. I personally am willing to wait for the results of an impartial investigation,
Hi Maria Lourdes,
Let’s be ready for the truth.
I share Annie’s thought on this.
I would understand had the Msgr. commiserated with a woman of discerning age, but this was a minor – granted that it was purely coincidental and that there was no ill will to haerm the minor, still as a priest with doctoral degrees, a treasurer of the diocese of Antipolo and given the multitude of sex abuse cases rocking the church, he should have known better not to be in a compromising situation.
I am sorry, I am angry. I have lost faith in government and now the only institution I am leaning, also is starting to fail me.
Dear Marivn,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Regards.
Nakakalungkot ang scandal na ito , nakaka alarm talaga at marami pa yan not only monsignor arnel ,sana lumabas na lang sila sa pagiging pari at nadadamay ang pangkalahatang kaparian ng simbahang katoliko, bakit di nila maiwan ang simbahan kahit alam nilang mali at bawal ang mga ganoong gawain , a big WHY? Your guess is as good as mine
Hi Rose,
Thank you for your comments. Happy Weekend.
Does anyone had an update regarding this story?
Hi Mike,
I am honestly not interested to know the next kabanata. I just wish that Monsignor Lagarejos has realized his grave faults and is trying to mend his ways.