TONDO PRIEST SUSPENDED OVER ‘PERSISTENT DEFIANCE’

THE Archbishop of Manila has suspended a priest in Tondo from all clerical activities due to his “persistent defiance.”

In a statement released last Wednesday, the Archbishop of Manila said effective June 3, 2024, Rev. Fr. Alfonso B. Valeza is relieved from his duties as parochial administrator of St. Joseph Parish in Gagalangin, Tondo

“From then on, any act he does in relation to the position is illicit,” stated in the statement.

“Because of his persistent defiance to the Archbishop of Manila despite orders and warnings, Fr. Valeza is likewise suspended from exercising priestly faculties effective June 5, 2024,” it added.

Cardinal Advincula took charge of the administration of St. Joseph Parish and assigned a new team ministry led by Fr. Reginald Malicdem, the archdiocese’s vicar general.

Related to this, there were reports of a bishop and a priest involved in an alleged altercation inside an office that was caught on video.

The individuals on the video turned out to be Fr. Valeza and Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the incident was a misunderstanding between the two prelates