Archbishop orders temporary closure of Misamis Occidental church after vlogger allegedly spits on holy water font
A church in Misamis Occidental has been temporarily closed after an incident where a vlogger allegedly defiled its holy water font.
After a now-deleted video showed a female vlogger allegedly dipping her hands in holy water and then appearing to spit into it, Archbishop Martin Sarmiento Jumoad ordered the temporary closure of the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist in Jimenez.
In a statement, the Archbishop called the incident an "act of sacrilege."
He cited Canon 1211 of the Code of Canon Law, which mandates that "sacred places are to be treated with reverence and respect, and that acts offending their sanctity are gravely sinful and undermine the reverence due to sacred signs."
"The spiritual welfare of the faithful and the reverence owed to sacred liturgical spaces necessitate appropriate liturgical and penitential measures," he added.
The church is closed until further notice as a "sign of penance and reparation."
"This is to invoke conversion of heart and communal purification as guided by Catholic teaching," he explained.
Along with this, there will also be a Holy Hour of Adoration and Solemn Confessions on Aug. 7 at 3 p.m. to "foster repentance, seek forgiveness, and restore the sanctity of the parish."
"The reopening of the church will only be permitted after appropriate acts of penance are observed by the faithful, including participation in the Holy Hour and confession, as well as after due pastoral assessment," Jumoad said.
He extended a "serious warning" to the individual responsible for the profanity committed at the church.
"The act of profaning sacred objects, such as the holy water font, constitutes grave sin and desecration and incurs not only ecclesiastical penalties but endangers the sinner's communion with the Church and God," Jumoad stressed.
"Immediate confession and sincere repentance are required to restore one's standing in the community of faith," he added.
He hopes that the incident will serve as a reminder to the public that "sacred objects and places are vessels of God's grace and deserve our utmost respect and reverence."