Heeding the call

Men and women who’ve heard the “call” to serve God and people are classified into various communities. Men who are called to the priesthood belong to either the “diocesan” clergy who owe their training and service to their local bishops, or to religious communities, recruited, trained and serving in the various religious orders of men. Men who choose to serve the Church but are not ordained into the priesthood are called “brothers,” usually within the religious orders.

There is no ordination for women, however. Instead, they undergo formation in any of the numerous religious orders for women, some of which under the “wing” of religious orders for men, such as the Benedictine or Franciscan nuns.

All of them, diocesan or religious priests, sisters or brothers, take vows of chastity, obedience and poverty, although I understand the last vow does not apply to diocesan priests.

In the Philippines, the foremost formation grounds for the clergy are San Jose Major Seminary inside Ateneo de Manila, which trains aspirants to both the Jesuit order and to diocesan service. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle is an alumnus. San Carlos Seminary, along Edsa in the Guadalupe area, is the primary training ground for future priests of the Archdiocese of Manila, but also welcomes aspiring clergy from all over the country.

Most recently, the “Karlistas,” as alumni of San Carlos are called, united when two of their own brother-priests were slain in an alarming string of killings of priests. The most recent victim is Fr. Richmond Nilo, who was shot last Sunday as he was preparing to say Mass in Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija. Before that was the fatal shooting of Fr. Mark Anthony Ventura by a still unidentified motorcycle-riding gunman in Gattaran, Cagayan. On Dec. 4, 2017, Fr. Marcelito Paez was ambushed as he was driving his car in Jaen, also in Nueva Ecija. Fathers Nilo and Paez were both Karlistas.

Around the time of Father Nilo’s shooting, another priest, Fr. Rey Urmeneta of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Calamba, Laguna, was wounded after unidentified gunmen shot him. He is recovering in hospital.

In a statement, the San Carlos seminarians condemned “the violence and brazen disrespect of life spreading in our nation.”

Another Karlista, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, led the chorus of condemnation in a pastoral letter declaring June 18, which marks the traditional ninth day of mourning for Father Nilo, as a “Day of Reparation” in the Archdiocese.

“They are killing our flock. They are killing us the shepherds. They are killing our faith. They are cursing our Church. They are killing God again as they did in Calvary,” Archbishop Villegas declared.

On the other hand, reacting to reports that seminarians were rethinking their choice of vocation because of the risks, Caloocan Bishop Pablo David, who is also vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, advised those afraid for their lives to leave the seminary because “priesthood is no place for cowards.”

The three priests, added David, should be viewed not as victims but rather as martyrs. “These priests made a choice,” added Bishop David. “From the moment they chose the path of Christ, they already chose the path of suffering and death.”

Meanwhile, reaching out across the divide of diocesan and religious priesthood, the religious-missionary priests and brothers of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) issued a statement calling for a stop to the killings, joining in the call for June 18 to be observed as “a day of atonement, a day of prayer, that the darkness of sin (killings) and the night of unbelief (impunity) may vanish before the light of the Divine Word and the spirit of grace.”

The statement was signed by Fr. Flavie Villanueva, SVD, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation coordinator for the Central Province, and Fr. Reynaldo Jimenez, SVD, JPIC coordinator for the Northern Province.

Killers of priests and their enablers and defenders have made a strategic mistake. God may not have an army, but His forces, once roused, are powerful and awesome to behold.