Vidal warned over bogus seminarian

A community elder of the Sisters of Divine Mercy Society of Madridejos in Alegria town wrote Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal to warn him of a man who introduces himself as a seminarian.

In her letter dated June 10, Sister Josephine Librando said that a young man appeared in their area on May 8 and introduced himself as a seminarian from the Order of the Disciples of Hope.

"I am writing on behalf of our community, the Sisters of the Divine Mercy Society to report to you and warn the Archdiocese of Cebu of an apparent misrepresentation of a certain individual," Librando said.

The man, who is reportedly based in the Diocese of Maasin and was scheduled to be ordained last June 5, allegedly solicited money from the Divine Mercy Society as well as from local residents. He also took pictures of the ongoing construction of a shrine in the area.

Librando also said that on the night of the same day, a local resident whose son was also a seminarian allowed the man to sleep in their house. However, the next morning, the alleged seminarian was gone and that the cellular phone and other valuables inside the room were missing.

Upon inquiry, Librando said the Diocese of Maasin denied that the alleged seminarian is one of its members and that no ordination was scheduled last June 5.

Librando said that the diocese had also received inquiries from other religious groups and individuals regarding the alleged seminarian.

"We are afraid that if others are not warned about the activities of this individual, they will also be victimized by the scam. We are also in belief that the pictures he took at the construction site of our shrine will be used in the furtherance of his unauthorized, albeit illegal activities by using it to solicit funds from well-meaning Catholics," Librando said.