Church devotees in Guindulan were thrown in virtual uproar Thursday upon learning that a pontifical mass as wont any fiesta celebration was cancelled for violating a diocese wide edict banning a cultural presentation beyond 12 midnight on fiesta eve. The religious celebration would have been one occasion filled with memories of meeting friends, families and strengthening of the Christian faith. But no way. It was one occasion where fiesta goers out to pay homage to their favorite patroness only to miss the most important highlight of the religious event-the pontifical mass. What went wrong was that parishioners and fiesta visitors were surprised to learn that the main celebrant boycotted the pontifical mass. Guindulman is considered one among the centuries-old parishes established when the Agustinian Fathers arrived in Bohol in the 18 th century. Its annual fiesta falls on September 8. According to reports, that fateful Thursday saw the bishop of the Diocese of Talibon made a disappearing act for the scheduled 9:30 in the morning pontifical mass. The bishop imposed upon the devotees the sanction of ‘no pontifical mass’ for allegedly violating the diocese’s standing policy; that shows on vesper night should not exceed beyond the 12 midnight limit.

The presenters that night was the DPWH 3 district office based in that town, whose show “Bol-anong Talentado” bannered the purported guesting of Coco Martin, a popular television-movie personality. The show lasted until 2:00 am, a clear violation of the standing church policy. The policy, contained in Circular No. 7, series of 1994, signed by Talibon Bishop Christian Vicente F. Noel prohibits discos, regulates shows on vesper nights that may affect the solemnity, spirituality of the Pontifical Mass celebrated on the feast day itself. Bishop Noel in his circular said that fiesta of patron saints is a spiritual celebration, not of worldly activities like discos and entertainment shows. Since the implementation of the policy, five town fiestas experienced no pontifical mass and a dozen more of chapels (quasi-parishes) because of the same reasons.

CHURCH VS. STATE

The incident resulted into one divisive event opening anew the rift experienced before between the church and state. Varied comments through the internet, mostly from those residing in other countries, condemned the cancellation of the pontifical mass. Some vowed not to support anymore project solicitation of the church. Earlier, the municipal government and the church observed different dates of fiesta; first Saturday was observed by the local government while the parish fixed the date on September 8, birth date of the Blessed Virgin Mary and also patron of the parish founders Agustinian Fathers. The observance of different fiesta dates only stopped in 1998 during the time of the late Mayor Gaudioso “Denden” Ranario, a devote Catholic and church benefactor. Since then September 8 was observed as the official fixed date for Guindulman’s annual town fiesta. A parishioner lamented that this year’s fiesta celebration without a pontifical mass was a black mark in the annals of the town’s cultural and spiritual history. Guindulman, among the biggest of the 19 municipalities in the third district of Bohol, is dominantly Catholic and are faithful devotees of patron Our Lady of Consolation (Birhen sa Kalipay). “Naunsa naman intawon ang atong lungsod. Karon pa ni nahitabo sa ato untang adlaw sa kalipay , (what is happening to our town, this is the first tine that it happened on the day of our supposed joyous celebration),” a resident said.

ARROGANCE

Another cause of the incident is allegedly the arrogance of government officials who were the show organizers. In a telephone interview yesterday, parish priest Fr. Felix Tabigue said, the incident could have been prevented if government organizers heeded his call to observe such time limit, as provided in Bishop Noel’s circular. As early as 11:30 in the evening, Fr. Tabigue said he texted the Parish Pastoral Council moderator Teofilo Bajao, a government employee, reminding the time limit for the activity held in the cultural center owned by the parish. “I texted again at quarter to 12 cautioning them about possible violation that may cause the cancellation of the Pontifical Mass the following morning, but no one answered,” Fr. Tabigue said. Another call by phone was made at 12:10 but no one answered. The parish priest then sent a handwritten letter to the organizers, carried by the convent security guard. “The letter was only passed around ( gipasa-pasa) but the show continued”, Fr. Tabigue said. “The show organizers could have discussed the matter with me and perhaps I can allow extension of time considering the situation, but they never did,” the parish priest added.

DECEPTION?

The huge crowd that gathered until 2 in the morning was attributed to the organizers repeated announcement that Coco Martin was already around, coming to the stage anytime. Until the show ended, no shadow of the actor appeared. A frustrated viewer who brought his whole family to see Coco Martin said : “Pangilad man tong ila. Wa man lagi artista mianha (They fooled us. No artist was there).” Efforts to contact Tagalog-speaking DPWH 3 district head Engr. Edilberto Ativo failed as of Friday noon. The office telephones 529-1013 and 527-1060 could not be reached with all lines appearing busy. Ativo, was also absent in a technical working group meeting set at the provincial Capitol in Tagbilaran City , 4 o’clock Friday afternoon. A meeting with the church hierarchy, show organizers and municipal government officials is reportedly set this week to thresh out the matter.