THE PHILIPPINE Association of Catholic Exorcists (PACE) on Friday stood behind one of its members, former UST secretary general Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P., who is set to face a Quezon City court over allegations of “offending religious feelings.”
“He has served faithfully in the very difficult ministry of exorcism for many years in the Archdiocese of Manila and has given his entire life to always preach and teach the truths of our Catholic faith,” PACE Secretary General Fr. Jose Francisco Syquia wrote in a statement.
“We, therefore, stand with Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P. in his obedience and union with the Pope and the Philippine bishops of the Catholic Church with regards to this issue,” he added.
The statement was published with the “blessing” of Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, said Syquia, an alumnus of the Ecclesiastical Faculties like Advincula.
Cabading, an exorcist at the Archdiocese of Manila, is set to be arraigned on June 1 over a charge of violating Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code, which states that “anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.”
The complaint was filed in December 2022 by Harriet Demetriou, a former chairwoman of the Commission on Elections and former justice at Sandiganbayan, who accused Cabading of mocking the devotion to Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace in Lipa, Batangas.
Cabading, a member of the theology faculty of UST, was arrested on May 13. He posted bail of P18,000 and was granted provisional liberty on May 15.
The former UST secretary general earlier told the Varsitarian that he was not referring to the Mediatrix of All Grace statue in Lipa as “demonic” in a May 28, 2022 episode of an online commentary show, an act which Demetriou claimed was “notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.”
“May sinabi akong demonic pero that did not refer to the statue. Sabi ko may possible deception […] Kaya kailangan ng discernment kasi may possible deception. And if there is a deception, at ini-insist mo, diyan na magkakaroon ng demonic intrusions,” Cabading said.
Syquia commended Cabading for doing the “challenging task” of standing behind the ruling of the Church that the 1948 apparitions in the Carmelite monastery of Lipa are “not worthy of belief.”
“[Cabading] has, when pastorally needed, helped clarify confusion, dispelled doubts and answered questions from the faithful that pertain to the 1948 Alleged Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Carmelite Monastery in Lipa, Batangas,” he said.
On Wednesday, unnamed Catholic lay groups condemned Cabading’s arrest, saying the incident was instigated by “a complainant who rejected and refused to obey the decrees and guidance of the Catholic Church on extraordinary phenomena.”
The Dominicans of the St. Mary Magdalene House (Caleruega) in Nasugbu, Batangas, also expressed support for Cabading, their superior. Justin Benedict T. Lim
