Priest involved in illegal ivory trade

Manila: A Catholic priest in Cebu, central Philippines, was suspended in June due to the Vatican’s decision to reopen the child abuse case filed against him in the United State 20 years ago, prior to his alleged recent involvement in illegal trade of ivory religious icons, a local paper said.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma followed the Vatican’s order that Cristobal Garcia should be suspended and stripped of all his positions in the Archdiocese of Cebu in June, after the Holy See decided to investigate why the priest was allowed to enter Cebu archdiocese after his conviction in the civil aspect of the US case filed against him, Achilles Dakay, spokesman of the Cebu Archdiocese, told the Inquirer.

Garcia was stripped of his chairmanship of the archdiocese committee on worship. He was not allowed to hear confessions or say Mass in public, said Dakay.

The suspension, which affected his health, prompted him to stay with a sibling in Manila. Then he went on sick leave from the diocese after he was confined for elevated blood sugar and hypertension in a private hospital in Manila, said Dakay.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was responsible for the new look into Garcia’s case which began in early 2012, said Dakay.

Records showed that Garcia, a former Dominican priest was expelled from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, following a police report supplied by a nun, that an altar boy was in his bed.

Garcia was accused of allegedly molesting two young boys in 1980 and 1984, the Los Angeles Times said in a report.

Dallas Morning News also quoted Garcia as claiming in an interview that he was “seduced and raped” by the two young altar boys he had an intimate relationship with. Garcia’s claim was absurd, the same paper quoted his accusers as saying.

The Dominican Order expelled Garcia after he was convicted in the civil aspect of the case filed against him.

These reports were also posted in the Bishop Accountability website.

Cebu Archbishop Cardinal Rosales extended assistance to Garcia and bought him back to Cebu, installed him as a diocesan priest and was later named a monsignor.

At that time, Garcia was no longer allowed to go back to the US.

Garcia was one of more than 200 Catholic clergymen who crossed international borders to escape justice, another report assessed, adding that Garcia was “untouchable” because he belonged to one of the richest families in the Philippines.

Before he died in the 1980s, Cebu Archbishop Rosales was responsible for Garcia’s ordination.

At the same time, Palma, also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the Vatican has started investigating Garcia who told the National Geographic magazine that he was allegedly involved with smugglers to amass a collection of religious icons carved in ivory.

The National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Customs have also began an investigation into Garcia.

Garcia will need to prove that he bought the ivory tusks, that were carved into religious icons, before 1981, to escape being charged with illegal possession of by-products of endangered species, said Mundita Lim, Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resource Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau.