Church split over fate of priest convicted of abuse

Manila: The Catholic Church remains divided on how to handle the case of a priest who hid the fact that he had been convicted of sexual abuse prior to his ordination in the Philippines, the website of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.

Father Joseph Skelton Jr was convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy in the US state of Michigan. After being ordained in the Philippines, Skelton served as associate pastor of St Vincent Ferrer Parish in Calajpe town of the Diocese of Tabilaran.

Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak, who served as Tagbilaran's Bishop from 1992 to 2005, said he was unaware of Skelton's conviction.

"Had I known of his conviction, I would not have ordained him," Tumulak told the CBCP. Tumulak was appointed as Military Ordinary in 2005.

Tumulak said the Diocese of Tagbilaran had observed the prescribed canonical requirements prior to Skelton's ordination.

Meeting

Noting how they met, Tumulak said: "The late Bishop Felix Sanchez Zafra introduced him [Skelton] to me simply as a seminarian wanting to become a priest and [that he] was a former member of a religious congregation."

Skelton refused to speak about how he thought his case would be handled.

"I don't know how to explain it… under the circumstances all is not so well [with me]," he told the CBCP's news section.

Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso defended Skelton and said he had already served his sentence.