MANILA, Philippines—The P1-billion construction of a Marian shrine in Batangas spearheaded by healing priest Fr. Fernando Suarez has divided Catholic Church leaders.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz has found spending P1 billion “for (the) Our Lady of the Poor (shrine) is just too much.”

In an interview with the CBCP News, which was posted on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Cruz said he liked the idea of having such a shrine, but building one at such a huge cost was unwarranted, considering the country’s dismal economic situation.

Cruz said it would have been more prudent to use the money to help the poor through feeding programs or through building schools.

Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, meanwhile, refused to condemn the huge amount that would go into the shrine's construction.

“It has been their dream and it is not bad to dream,” he was quoted as saying in the same article.

Arguelles admitted that he allowed Fr. Suarez to build a Marian shrine, but that he was not involved in the design and the construction plans.

“I’m in favor of (having) whatever place of gathering for the rich and the poor. I’m in favor of having a place of prayer. But if they do it and the people will praise or condemn them, it’s their lookout,” Arguelles added.

He also argued that as long as the poor were not be neglected, he saw no harm in undertaking a project “that humanity will thank us for in the future.”

Fr. Suarez is building a Marian shrine in Montemaria, Batangas, his home province. The project is being built on a five-hectare lot and is expected to be completed in five years.

The shrine began with a huge stage put up in the area when Suarez held a healing mass in 2006. In January 2007, a gigantic statue of Mary was built.

Aside from the statue, plans to build a rosary garden, a columbarium and retreat and lodging houses are also in the pipeline.