A 17-year-old girl from Agusan del Norte who accused a priest of raping her on Friday sought the intervention of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in her quest for justice.
Leah (not her real name) was accompanied by the women’s party-list group, Gabriela, when she dropped by the CBCP office in Intramuros, Manila. The women’s group also delivered a letter seeking the Church hierarchy’s guidance and intercession.
“I want to talk to the bishops and ask them to act on my case and to not cover up the offense committed by one of their priests,” said Leah, clad in an orange blouse and dark pants.
Last month, the girl claimed that Fr. Raul Cabonce, then parish priest of St. Anne Parish in Tubay town, sexually assaulted and raped her several times while she was working for him.
The alleged abuse began on Sept. 16, 2010 and was repeated the following month. The abuse allegedly escalated to rape on March 3 and 14 this year.
“We write for your advice and guidance on how we can seek justice for Leah,” stated Gabriela in the letter, which was received by CBCP secretary general Msgr. Juanito Figura.
It further stated, “We know that the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy has a tribunal of its own to make an in-depth investigation on erring priests, as pronounced by Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz.”
But Figura told the group that the CBCP did not have the right to intervene since the case has been filed before the Butuan Regional Trial Court.
The CBCP official suggested that they could write or seek an audience with the diocese of Butuan, which has jurisdiction over Cabonce.
“As a matter of policy, the CBCP has no authority over the diocese of Butuan because each bishop has his own power and authority over his own authority… so the CBCP cannot tell them what to do and what not to do,” Figura explained.
He added that it was the bishop of Butuan, referring to Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, who must initiate the investigation.
Cruz, who chairs the Catholic Bishops’ National Tribunal of Appeals, earlier stated that cases of such gravity involving a minor must be sent for trial and judgment to the Vatican, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church.
The bishop supervising the accused priest should gather criminal evidence and if he finds the case with preliminary merit, it must be forwarded to Rome, said Cruz.