Vidal willing to open Pagcor aid list
SINCE everything went to the poor, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said he is “ready to be criticized and blamed” for receiving donations, in behalf of the church, from state-sponsored gambling proceeds.
“I am not trying to break my head with that (report). After all, everything went to the poor,” Vidal said yesterday, after celebrating mass at the University of San Carlos.
The cardinal explained that the church last received donations from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. last year, before the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued an order prohibiting the acceptance of any cash donations from the state-run firm.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported last Saturday that Vidal was among three prominent church leaders who received P500,000 to P4 million in “donations” from Pagcor.
Cardinal Vidal said they will open their accounts to the public if it is necessary, but pointed out that they are not obligated to do this because the church collection is between the bishop and the parish priest.
The collections from all the masses are always posted on the bulletin of all the parishes, he said.
The cardinal has already asked Msgr. Achilles Dakay, Cebu Archdiocese media liaison officer, to prepare the list of beneficiaries of the donations that the church received.
The Cebu Archdiocese used to receive donations from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, but it later rejected these after the office started operating online lottery.
Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) defended the cardinal and the CBCP.
“I cannot allow this accusation against a man whom I got familiar with when he was still a monsignor years back,” Gullas told reporters in a press conference yesterday.
The timing is suspicious, he said, as it is meant to downplay the influence of the CBCP. The CPCP did not categorically call for President Arroyo to resign, over allegations of cheating in last year’s elections and corruption.
“Men in public service like politicians or priests always get the arrows and spears. We always get wounded, but we are always cured by our clear conscience,” Gullas said.
In an interview after his mass yesterday, Vidal said the people should not blame the poor since it was the church that accepted the donations.
“Once the donations were received, I immediately requested that they be distribute to different charitable institutions. There is always a process that we follow and everything is given to the poor,” the cardinal said.
Vidal further said that the Catholic Church has always opposed gambling and will never tolerate it.
The church, he said, encourages the community to help them sustain the parishes.
Vidal asked those who have more to help those who are in need.
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Anyways........ the end does not justify the means....