Bishop Jose Alan Dialogo of Sorsogon announced the suspension of Father Emmanuel Alparce for running in the coming elections as a member of the municipal council.
“The Rev. Alparce is suspended indefinitely from every priestly ministry,” said the prelate, adding that the suspension is “a censure which prohibits him completely from exercising power of order and the power of governance.”
“All his faculties which were granted by my predecessor are hereby withdrawn as of this date until further notice,” said the bishop in a statement on April 4.
The bishop said the priest violated the Code of Canon Law # 285, which forbids priests from running for public office.
Father Alparce can no longer celebrate the sacraments and is dismissed from the diocese, said the bishop.
He, however, “remains a priest incardinated to this diocese, not yet dispensed from his vows, especially celibacy.”
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, earlier reminded the clergy that they are prohibited from seeking electoral posts.
In 2009, the Vatican’s Congregation of Clergy granted bishops the authority to dismiss priests from the ministry if they have engaged in “scandalous behavior.”
Bishop Dialogo said he gave the priest until March 25 to withdraw from his candidacy, but Father Alparce pursued his candidacy in the town of Bacacay in Albay province.
“He has been warned that if he does not reform and continues to give scandal, because of his participation in the local elections, he can be progressively punished by deprivations, or even by dismissal from the clerical state,” said the bishop.
