Healing priest arrives, bishop bans him from turf - report

MANILA, Philippines - Controversial healing priest Fernando Suarez arrived in the country Saturday night, even as a senior Catholic bishop banned him from saying Mass in Northern Luzon. In a report Sunday, Church-run Radio Veritas said Suarez arrived in the country Saturday night supposedly for a series of healing masses in the coming weeks. But Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz, who had been vocal in questioning Suarez's healing masses, said he will not allow Suarez to take his act to the Lingayen-Dagupan area. Cruz said he will likely stand pat on his decision even if Suarez sought permission to say mass in his area. Earlier this month, Sr. Gemma Ria dela Cruz, a production program manager of Church-run Radio Veritas' "Kapanalig" program, said Suarez will celebrate a healing Mass for listeners in July. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, however, admitted not all members of the Catholic Church welcome Suarez's healing ministry, with some priests remaining critical of him. The CBCP cited an essay by Fr. Virgilio Ojoy O.P., professor at the University of Santo Tomas Ecclesiastical Faculties, who said Suarez's work has been "sensationalized." "The seriously sick and even the dying add insult to their injury by waiting for long hours sometimes under the cruelest conditions just to be touched by him. It is in this sense that the faithful need to be educated," Ojoy wrote in his essay titled "To Heal or Not to Heal: What is the Answer?" On the other hand, the CBCP said it has yet to make a stand on Suarez's alleged "gift" to cure illnesses. "The Church recognizes that there are gifted individuals who have received special charisms. The Church also suggests that healing is also possible through the prayers of any priest or bishop," it said. Batangas-born Suarez was a graduate of Chemical Engineering in Adamson University before he went to Canada, where he decided to pursue his vocation in 1995. In 1997, he joined the religious community, Companions of the Cross. Five years later, he was ordained a priest. He also founded the Mary Mother of the Poor Foundation, which now supports thousands of poor Filipinos through scholarships, feeding programs, medical missions, and housing projects. - GMANews.TV