QC court gives prosecution 30 days to amend charge vs exorcist priest

A Quezon City court gave the prosecution 30 days to amend the information filed against exorcist priest Fr. Winston Cabading.

In a 6-page order, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court 81 found that the information for the crime of offending religious feelings filed against Cabading failed to state the facts which constitute an offense.

The court said that the prosecution must be given an opportunity to correct the defect under Sec. 4, Rule 117 of the Revised Penal Code.

“Wherefore, the public prosecutor is given 30 days from receipt of this order to amend the information, failing which this court shall dismiss this case,” the court said.

The court order stemmed from the motion to quash the information filed by Cabading, in which he argued that the information against him was defective and insufficient to allege the elements of the crime.

Former Commission on Elections Chairperson Harriet Demetriou filed the case against Cabading over his alleged statements on the authenticity of the 1948 Lipa Apparitions in a digital Catholic show.

Demetriou, in her complaint, accused the priest of being a “rabid critic” of Mary and lambasted his comment that there exists a 1951 Lipa Diocesan Verdict that “negated the authenticity of the 1948 apparition of Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace.”

In its order, the court found that the essential elements for the crime of offending religious feelings were absent.

These elements included acts performed in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony or for the acts to be notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.

The court noted that an act is notoriously offensive when a person ridicules or makes light of anything constituting religious dogma or scoffs at anything devoted to religious ceremonies.

“It is evident that the statements made by the accused are not of his own, but he was merely echoing what ‘the Vatican said’ or based on the dogma of the church,” the court said.

“The statements were not notoriously offensive, there was no scoffing, and they do not appear to ridicule. It was not a personal conviction but that which is stated by the Vatican” it added.

Further, the court said that the program where Cabading uttered his remarks did not appear to be a ceremony.

“Thus, the first element of 'performed in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony' is absent,” it said.

“The information also failed to state that it was the accused who uploaded the program on Facebook for live streaming. In fact, the information states that the program was hosted by Bro. Talindong and not by accused,” it added.

GMA News Online had sought comment from Fr. Cabading's representatives on the court's order, but they had yet to respond as of posting time.

Travel permit

Meanwhile, the court granted Cabading’s motion for permission to travel to the International Conference of the Association of Exorcists in Rome, Italy from September 25 to September 30.

The Court said it appeared that Cabading was not a flight risk as he returned the first instance when he was allowed to travel in June.

According to the permission granted by the court, Cabading could not leave earlier than September 17 and no later than October 3.

The court also ordered Cabading to pay a travel bond of double the bail amount as stated in the information. — DVM, GMA Integrated News