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Three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys for Carlos Celdran?


If the Church has already forgiven reproductive health advocate Carlos Celdran, why are they pursuing the case against him for disrupting a prayer service at the Manila Cathedral last year? This was the issue tackled in a recent episode of "Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie," hosted by Prof. Solita "Winnie" Monsod. "Sabi ng simbahan, forgiven na si Carlos Celdran, pero bakit hindi nag-withdraw ng complaint si Monsignor Nestor Cerbo?" asked Monsod. Cerbo is the rector of the Manila Cathedral where Celdran disrupted an ecumenical service  in September 2010 in protest of the Catholic Church's opposition to the Reproductive Health bill. Both houses of Congress passed the final version of the RH bill on December 19 last year. Aquino signed the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 two days later. The Catholic Church has been against the passage of the RH law as it promotes both natural and artificial methods of contraception. The Church accepts only natural family planning methods. On January 28 this year, a Manila court has found Manila tour guide Celdran guilty of "offending religious feelings." Celdran was convicted of violating Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code which penalizes offending religious feelings. The law has been in the books since 1930. Article 133 punishes anyone who "in a place of worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony, shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful." Celdran was sentenced to spend between two months and one year in jail. Dressed like Rizal   When he made the protest in 2010, Celdran dressed as national hero Jose Rizal and  held up a placard with the word “Damaso” before the Papal Nuncio, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, several bishops and other religious. It was a reference to the villainous friar from Rizal's novel "Noli Me Tangere." During the "Bawal ang Pasaway" program, Atty. Ronaldo Reyes, the private prosecutor in the case against Celdran, said the Manila tour guide offended the religious feelings of the people attending the ecumenical service when he made the protest. "Bilang Katoliko, ako po ay naapektuhan at nagalit [sa ginawa ni Celdran] kaya gusto ko tumulong bilang isang lawyer," explained Reyes. Monsod asked why the Catholic Church is still pursuing the case and letting Celdran risk getting imprisoned if it has already forgiven the RH advocate. "Marami nang penance ang tatlong Our Fathers at tatlong Glory Bes, bakit ang haba ng penance na inihatol kay Carlos Celdran?" Monsod asked, comparing the court's sentence on Celdran to the penance given by priests to people who avail of confession. The Manila court sentenced Celdran to a minimum imprisonment of two months and 21 days to a maximum of one year, one month, and 11 days. A conviction is the result of a legal process. A penance, on the other hand, is a church sacrament by which Catholics seek forgiveness of sins. Will seek appeal Celdran's side stands firm that they are going to appeal the case. "Pwede kaming umabot hanggang sa Korte Suprema," said Atty. Marlon Manuel, Celdran's lawyer. When the show "Bawal ang Pasaway" invited Cerbo to the program, the monsignor declined, saying it was better that his representative — Reyes — would appear on the show. Reyes explained that there was no lawyer-client relationship between him and Cerbo but he was helping the church in the case against Celdran. Celdran's lawyer, however, commented during the show, "Nakakagulat ang sinabi ni Atty. Reyes [kasi] malinaw sa lahat na abogado [siya] ni Cerbo." On the other hand, Reyes explained, "Naging kaibigan ko na si Msgr. Cerbo dahil dito [sa kaso]. There is no lawyer-client relationship. Sabi niya [Cerbo], 'attorney, sayo ko na lang ipapadala yung media kasi kaso yan eh, hindi ko yan alam.'" - Ria Landingin, Veronica Pulumbarit, GMA News