Six Religious Images Destroyed During Mass
The man rode his tricycle into the church and swiftly made his way to the altar, where he toppled and destroyed six life-sized religious statues.
During the morning Mass at San Isidro Labrador Catholic Church in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, April 2, a 39-year-old man, identified as Rolly Semira from Barangay San Teodoro, Binalbagan, drove his tricycle into the church.
Upon reaching the altar, he proceeded to cause significant damage by knocking over and destroying six life-sized religious statues. Police Lt. Glenn Portunes, Binalbagan deputy police chief, confirmed that Semira is currently in custody.
Semira’s family attributed his actions to sleeplessness and signs of a nervous breakdown. Relatives expressed remorse for his behavior and lamented the desecration of the church, as stated by Fr. Randy Bayog, Binalbagan parish priest. Complaints including malicious mischief, alarm and scandal, and interruption of religious worship have been filed against Semira, with damages to the religious images estimated at P300,000.
During the Mass led by Fr. Leopoldo Cahilig, Semira drove his tricycle down the church aisle, causing it to tip over after striking a pew, before swiftly toppling the religious statues in front of approximately 80 shocked attendees. Bishop Louie Galbines of Kabankalan reported that the images of the parish patron saint, San Isidro Labrador, St. Joseph, Immaculate Conception, two angels, and the crucifix were either damaged or destroyed, with the tabernacle also suffering disfigurement.
“This untoward incident created a very painful impact on the faith and emotions of all Catholics in Binalbagan,” Galbines said.
He affirmed that the person in question was already being supervised by the police and would be responsible for the wrongdoing and the consequent damages.
“While the physical and external damages may cause so much burden to the parish, it is the internal injury to the minds and hearts of the faithful that concern more to us. Witnessing desecration of the sanctuary and utter disrespect to the revered images generated so much pain and suffering to the people of the parish,” he said.
The bishop stressed that while it’s crucial to promptly repair the vandalized images, attending to the internal emotional and spiritual anguish holds even higher significance.
“The church will remain closed for a period of time to allow repair of the images to take place, and this time will also be utilized for all of us to do penitential act in order to effect complete healing to our very hearts and minds, to our faith itself wounded by this unwarranted act,” Galbines said.
“I pastorally enjoin everyone to refrain from causing more pain to anyone. We unite all our prayers and I fervently hope that we all move forward and come out stronger and more dedicated Catholics at the end of this,” he added.
Check out the church’s post below:
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