Church has forgiven tour guide Celdran—Tagle

MANILA, Philippines–Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Saturday said the Church has forgiven activist tour guide Carlos Celdran.

“Nagpatawad na ang Simbahan (The Church has forgiven),” said Tagle when asked by a reporter on the sidelines of INQUIRER Conversations at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran if the church would intervene in Celdran’s case.

On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of Celdran for offending religious feelings under Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code.

Carlos Celdran AP FILE PHOTO

Celdran, a reproductive health advocate, was meted with the penalty of two months and 21 days to one year, one month and 11 days of imprisonment for shouting inside Manila Cathedral in 2010 in a call for the Church to stop meddling with government affairs.

Celdran has written a letter to Pope Francis to appeal his case.

But Tagle said, “Dapat i-revise niya ‘yung sulat niya kasi hindi Simbahan nagkaso sa kanya (He should revise his letter because it was not the Church which filed a case against him),” he said.

He said his predecessor, former Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, has issued an instruction to the church saying “no charges should be filed (against Celdran).

Pope Francis is expected to arrive in the Philippines on Jan. 15.

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