Palma waiting for priest-turned-politico to visit him

CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma has yet to hear from suspended priest Oscar Banzon after Banzon was elected barangay captain of Kawit, Medellin, Cebu.

“Let’s wait to see what he wants to say when he visits me. So far, we have not talked or communicated through the phone after the elections,” Palma told reporters yesterday.

What’s certain is that Banzon would not be given a parish assignment and remains suspended while he serves as barangay captain.

Banzon earlier asked permission to transfer to an archdiocese in the US.

“He applied there but he was not accepted. He came back to Cebu and waited for an assignment,” Palma said.

Under canon 285-3 of the Catholic Church, “Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power.”

Palma suspended the priest after he filed his certificate of candidacy on Oct. 16.

Kawit has a separate parish priest. Asked if he has asked him to look into Banzon’s case, the Cebu prelate said no.

“No, I don’t have any instruction. The suspension itself is already the main message,” Palma said.

While Banzon remains a priest, he is prohibited from performing priestly functions like celebrating Mass and administering sacraments of baptism, marriage and confession.

Banzon, in an interview in Medellin with Cebu Daily News on Monday, confirmed that he was “in a relationship” with a Kawit councilwoman, saying it had even helped him become more patient and concerned for others.

Under church law, priests are “bound to celibacy” in order to serve God and humanity with “an undivided heart”.

Palma’s immediate reaction was to warn that “It would be better for any priest who commits scandal to leave priesthood especially if what he’s doing is of public knowledge”.

Last Thursday, Palma said he would have to look deeper into reports about the priest’s relationship with a woman since he doesn’t have enough background about Banzon. Palma assumed as Cebu archbishop in January 2011.

Palma said he will ask for recommendations from the Archdiocesan Board of Consultors on what action to take.

Asked if Banzon’s suspension can be lifted after he completes his term as village chief, Palma replied, “The Church has processes. It usually takes some time. It’s not as simple as saying ‘I want to return.’ We have a process to follow.”

“I respect the votes of the people but on my part as archbishop, people know that he (Banzon) is suspended,” Palma said.