SAN JOSE CITY—Officials closed the St. Joseph Cathedral here on Feb. 1 after a village leader died there from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot.
Churchgoers claimed to have witnessed Alfredo Cabinian, 43, shoot himself after long hours of kneeling at the pew near the center of the cathedral, according to police investigators. Cabinian was the barangay captain of Bagong Sikat.
The church was ordered closed hours after the incident. In a Feb. 1 diocesan decree, church officials ruled that the death dealt the cathedral “an act of desecration” which would require an equivalent “act of reparation” before it could serve the community again.
The decree was issued by Fr. Nestor Romano, the administrator of the Diocese of San Jose, and by Fr. Jun Flores, the church chancellor.
Police said Cabinian went to the church in the morning of Feb. 1 after visiting the interior and local government office. Witnesses said Cabinian knelt for hours before he made a sign of the cross and drew out a cal. .45 pistol.
They said Cabinian aimed the pistol at his right temple, and pulled the trigger. He died on the spot.
Police said Cabinian’s mobile telephone contained messages he sent to his wife, who is reportedly abroad, and to one of their three children.
His message to his wife read: “Patawarin mo ako sa aking pagkukulang. Di na kaya ng konsensya ang nagawa ko sa iyo. Pasensya, mahal na mahal kita giliw (Forgive me for all my shortcomings. My conscience can’t bear it anymore. My apologies, I love you so much, my dear).”
To his youngest daughter, he said: “Bunso, mahal na mahal kayo ng Papa. Mag-aral mabuti (My child, your Papa loves you. Please study well).”
Romano directed the parish priest, Fr. Cesar Vergara, who oversees the cathedral, to undertake the following acts of reparation before he reopens the church: Hold a Mass for the soul of Cabinian and offer prayers for the alleged suicide and hold a Mass for the cathedral itself.
Meantime, Masses at the cathedral and other activities are being conducted at the nearby Resurrection Crypt. Church services there may resume once church officials comply with the diocese’s decree. Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon