Caceres Priests Forbidden from Running for Public Office –Archbishop Legaspi

Naga City (29 October) - Annoyed by rumors that some priests in his jurisdiction are being enjoined to run for public office, Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi declared in a homily that priests in the Archdiocese of Caceres are forbidden from seeking public posts this coming May 2010 Elections.

In a homily delivered last 25 October, Archbishop Legaspi said the Code of Canon Law is clear in forbidding clerics from "assum[ing] public office which entail participation in the exercise of civil power."

Speaking in Pilipino, the Archbishop explained that priests were not meant for politics "kundi ang kaligtasan ng kaluluwa" (but for the salvation of souls).

He made this clarification in view of rumors circulating that some priests in the Archdiocese are planning or are being enjoined to run for elective positions during the 2010 National and Local Elections.

Archbishop Legaspi, however, stated that despite the Canon Law provision against clerics holding civil authority, it is not impossible that a priest assume a public post.

"... [M]aliwanag rin na hindi imposible na mangyari na ang isang pari ay makaupo sa political positions," the Archbishop admitted.

He indicated that, nonetheless, Canon Law also provides that priests may hold civil power when "the need to protect the rights of the church or to promote the common good requires it in the judgment of the competent ecclesiastical authority."

In the case of Caceres, however, the Archbishop stated that such need is not present, hereby denying the possibility of allowing any priest under his authority from being a candidate for the 2010 elections.

For the past several weeks, speculations in the local media have indicated that two priests of the Archdiocese are being urged to run this coming election. No formal declarations from the rumored priests have been made as of yet.