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Ikinatuwa ng Archdiocese of Cebu na muling makita ang apat na nawawalang 19th-century pulpit panels ng imahe ni Saint Augustine of Hippo ng Patrocinio de Maria Santisima Parish Church ng Boljoon Cebu.
Sa pahayag ni Archbishop Jose Palma, iginiit nito ang pag-aari sa apat na pulpit panels na isang sagradong bagay ng simbahang katolika lalo na ng parokyang itinatag ng mga Agustinong misyonero mahigit 400 taon ang nakalipas.
“The Archdiocese of Cebu hereby asserts its ownership of these panels and requests their immediate return to Boljoon at the pulpit where they were surreptitiously removed,” pahayag ni Archbishop Palma.
Kasalukuyang nasa pangangasiwa ng National Museum of the Philippines ang apat na pulpit panels makaraang i-turnover ng private collector na sina Edwin at Aileen Bautista.
Sinabi ni Archbishop Palma na inalis ang nasabing panels sa pulpito ng Boljoon Church nong dekada 80 na walang pahintulot mula sa dating arsobispo na si Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.
“No official record exists neither in the Archdiocesan Archives nor in the Chancery Office of any request from the Parish Priest at the time, Fr. Faustino Cortes, requesting approval to deconsecrate them for removal, much less conveyance to third parties in exchange for monetary purposes of the parish,” ani ng arsobispo.
Sa isinasaad ng Code of Canon Law no. 1284 inatasan nito ang mga Parish Priest na pangalagaan ang anumang gamit ng simbahan na ipinagkatiwala sa kanilang pangangasiwa.
Gayunpaman bagamat naunawaan ng arkidiyosesis ang hangarin ng National Museum na itanghal sa publiko ang apat na pulpit panels iginiit din ang kasagraduhan nito at hindi isang artworks for exhibition sa mga museum.
“They are integral to the patrimony of the church as part of her missionary work and thus considered sacred. Their illegal removal constitutes a sacrilege. They should never have been treated, then or now, as mere artworks for exhibition in museums, much less for private appreciation by the collectors who purchased them. For these panels are considered in the ecclesial rite as tools of evangelization,” giit ni Archbishop Palma.
Umaasa ang arsobispo na magkaroon ng dayalogo sa pagitan ng simbahan at parties concerned para sa mas maayos na pagbabalik ng pulpit panels sa Boljoon Church.
Sinabi naman ni Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) Episcopal Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church Executive Secretary Fr. Milan Ted Torralba na may proseso ng repatriation ng mga mahahalagang bagay ng simbahan sa pagitan ng pamahalaan.
Kaugnay nito umapela rin si Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia na ibalik sa Patrocinio de Maria Santisima Parish Church ang pulpit panels sapagkat ito ay pag-aari at bahagi ng kasaysayan ng simbahan ng Boljoon Cebu.
