Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete has imposed certain penitential acts at three different levels in relation to the death of a priest who was murdered while about to say mass at a chapel in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Tanjay City, Negros Oriental.
Bishop Cortes on Tuesday announced that the penitential acts are to be carried out at the chapel level, Sta. Cruz parish level and the diocesan level for healing and reparation as the death of Fr. Antonio Magalso has also affected the entire Church, which is the Body of Christ.
He explained that the penitential or reparation acts are interdict or a canonical recourse in situations where sacred places and consecrated areas are desecrated and when similarly-natured violence occurs.
In this particular case, Fr. Magalso was killed while he was just about to offer mass at the newly renovated chapel at Sitio Bombo in Barangay Sta. Cruz when a man, believed to be mentally challenged, stabbed him once in the back that led to his untimely demise Tuesday morning.
Bishop Cortes further explained the reparation acts were minimized so as not to further cause strain or tension among those already affected by the priest’s death. He cited an instance in another diocese where the indict was stricter, with no mass being said for a long period of time until healing and reparation was achieved.
For the Sta. Cruz parish, Bishop Cortes asked the parishioners for a daily procession at dawn and a penitential procession in the late afternoon, bringing the image of the Holy Cross with them, for nine consecutive days, beginning Thursday.
At the San Miguel chapel at the sub-village of Bombo, where Fr. Magalso was murdered, parishioners are asked to do the nine-day penitential dawn procession, also to start Thursday, to be followed by a recitation of the Rosary or a holy hour, but no mass shall be offered during this time, Cortes said.
Only on the 9th day, after the dawn procession, shall a mass be allowed, alongside the blessing of the newly renovated chapel that was destroyed during the height of the storm Quennie and which the late Fr. Magalso was scheduled to bless on the day he was killed.
At the diocesan level, meanwhile, all the parishes were asked to offer as an act of penitence a holy hour at 6 p.m. on October 2, the first Friday of the month, said Bishop Cortes.
Cortes explained that “we all need healing, we all have been hurt by the death of Fr. Tony (Magalso) and we must not allow evil to prevail”.
The prelate, however, cautioned against drastic actions such as revenge and disunity as these are the works of the devil.
But this does not mean that “we won’t ask for justice; by all means, we will seek it”, said Cortes, as he cited Christ’s last words at the Crucifixion, specifically on forgiveness to those “who do not know what they are doing” and about the promise of paradise to the thief who expressed faith in Jesus.
In an interview, Bishop Cortes admitted that he is feeling a mix of emotions over the death of Fr. Magalso, especially concerning some priests who have been affected by it and who have expressed fear or are demoralized.
He admitted the need to take a deeper look into the current concerns and issues of the clergy and pinpoint which areas have to be improved on or addressed with the recent violence against a priest.
Police investigation had shown that around 9:55 a.m. Monday, Fr. Antonio “Tony” Magalso, 44 years old, had just arrived on a motorcycle with a companion at Sitio Bombo to say mass in honor of the chapel’s patron saint, Michael, The Archangel, when he was suddenly stabbed on the back by the suspect, identified later as Dionisio Tejamo, around 50 years old and a resident of the said place.
Police said Tejamo was allegedly mentally challenged but the motive for the attack has not yet been determined.
Tejamo fled immediately after the incident but police arrested and neutralized him by shooting him on his legs after he allegedly resisted arrest.
Police filed a murder complaint against the man who allegedly stabbed dead a priest in Sta. Cruz, Tanjay City in Negros Oriental just as he was about to offer a fiesta mass in honor of the chapel’s patron saint Tuesday.
The murder complaint was filed late Wednesday against respondent, Dionisio Tejamo, a resident of Sitio Bomba in Barangay Sta. Cruz before the Tanjay City prosecutor’s office.
An inquest was not possible as Tejamo could not appear before the prosecutor’s office because his attending physician did not allow the patient to leave the hospital in Dumaguete as he still needs orthopedic cast for his leg wounds, the police said.
Supt. Resty Santos, the police chief of Tanjay, disclosed that Tejamo, who is confined at the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) in Dumaguete City for the treatment of bullet wounds on his legs, signed a waiver of detention instead in the presence of a lawyer from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) also on Wednesday.
The PAO lawyer provided assistance to the suspect and made sure he understood his rights, Santos said.
Police have not determined as yet the motive for the stabbing incident even as early reports have it the suspect was mentally-challenged, Supt. Santos disclosed Thursday.
He said the suspect, Dionisio Tejamo, refuses to cooperate with police investigation and does not want to talk to investigators. Tejamo’s wife, meanwhile, told the police she does not have any idea as to what was going on with her husband, Santos added.
The Tanjay City prosecutor’s office has ordered the preliminary investigation on the murder case on October 12, the police chief said.
Santos hopes that by then, the suspect would have recovered from his wounds and be discharged from hospital or at least allowed to travel to Tanjay City for the preliminary investigation.
Tejamo is under tight watch 24/7 at the provincial hospital, with two police personnel assigned in the morning and another two in the evening.
According to Santos, the man appears to be “very poor”, with the wife having no money for medical expenses such as dextrose, which policemen had to pay for on Wednesday evening.
The much-needed orthopedic cast has also yet to be performed but Santos admits that they are now in a dilemma on what to do.
At least five witnesses, including a vital witness who claimed to have seen the crime first hand, have issued their affidavits to testify in court. Initially, the police had to ask the help of Sta. Cruz Barangay Capt. Mario Gabas to convince witnesses to cooperate with authorities as they had earlier expressed fear of repercussion, Santos said.
The wake of the late Fr. Magalso is now at the Cathedral compound in Dumagete City, with a concelebrated mass to be presided by Bishop Julito Cortes scheduled Monday afternoon before the priest’s remains will be brought to Bonawon, Siaton, where he hails from.
Fr. Magalso will be laid to rest Wednesday, October 7, in his hometown. (PNA)
