Unwed mother accepts Cebu priest’s apology
Video taken from Jieve Frias’ Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines—The 17-year-old mother who was berated by a Catholic priest during the baptism of her child has accepted the prelate’s apology.
Cebu Daily News reported on Wednesday that the teen mom and Father Romeo Obach, a Redemptorist priest, met personally and even embraced during an emotional private dialogue on Tuesday at the Redemptorist Seminary in Cebu.
The mother said she told the priest, “Father, maka pasaylo ko. Wala man ko maglagot pero nasakitan ko og naulaw lang ko. Makapasaylo ko kay wala ko mag huna huna og balos. Isip Kristyanos kay mitoo ko og Ginoo. Ang Ginoo na ang bahala.”
(Father, forgive me. I don’t hate you but I was hurt and shamed by what you did. I have forgiven you. I was not thinking of getting even. As a Christian, I believe in God. God will take care of everything.)
Before their meeting, Obach had issued a public apology and a handwritten letter for the mother.
“Allow me to express my deep regret for the painful action I’ve done to all of you and those who witnessed it. I had no intention of saying that in front of all of you. I deeply regret this and I beg you to forgive me for what I did last July 6, 2014 in the chapel of the Sacred Heart,” Obach said in his personal letter that was written in Cebuano.
He said in the letter that he wanted to meet with the teenager to apologize to her personally.
On Sunday, Obach scolded the unwed teenage mother during the baptism of her baby for “sleeping with a man who was not [her] husband.”
“Makauulaw.Magpabunyag ka og walay bana. Nakig dug ka og laki nga dili nimo bana. Wala ma mauwaw Naka dungog ba na nako, dai? Wala ka mauwaw? (How shameful. You come here to have your child baptized without a husband. You slept with a man who is not your husband. Do you hear me, girl? Aren’t you ashamed?)” Obach said. The video of the incident, which was posted by the baby’s grandmother on Facebook, quickly became viral.
Because of the incident, Obach was barred from officiating church rites.
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