Vatican asks RP envoy to explain report to Manila

Ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa was summoned by the Vatican Secretary of State to explain why she reported to Manila that the Holy See does not support the anti-Estrada stance of the local Church, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Lauro Baja Jr. told The STAR that De Villa was asked to give her side Monday after the Apostolic Nunciature (Vatican embassy) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines denied reports that the Vatican had admonished Archbishop of Manila Jaime Cardinal Sin and the CBCP for engaging in partisan politics.

Baja said De Villa stood by her report to the home office because it was impossible for an ambassador to quote an official who was speaking without any authority from the Vatican.

"Maybe she assumed the person she was talking to can really speak for the Vatican," he said. "There must be some element of authority (if statements came from the head of the Asian Desk)."

Last Dec. 13, De Villa informed the DFA that Msgr. Luis Montemayor, head of the Vatican’s Asian Desk, told her that "the Vatican believes the position taken by the local Church has placed the entire institution in a precarious situation which could eventually rebound to a negative effect on the country, the Church, and the magisterium of the presidency."

Baja said the "release for publication" of De Villa’s report was not authorized, and that it was only transmitted to Malacañang for the information of the President.

"Let the cable of De Villa and the statement of De Villa speak for themselves," he said. "I would have expected a clear cut denial from the Papal Nuncio (Vatican ambassador). We cannot also say that De Villa’s report is wrong or misleading. We leave all to the perception and assessment of the readers, as to what version should be believed."

Baja said De Villa should be commended for doing her job of reporting important developments in her post that are of concern to the country.

In Dagupan City, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Oscar Cruz, former CBCP president, said it was "unethical, misleading and arrogant" to leak to the media the "private conversation" between De Villa and Montemayor.

"How pretentious can two people get," he said. "How desperate can the Estrada government be!"

Sin homily

Sin called yesterday on the judges hearing President Estrada’s impeachment trial to pursue the truth without any vested interests.

"So let the truth come out, no matter how damaging," Sin said in a homily at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church yesterday afternoon. "Only the truth can set this nation free from the shackles of corruption, cheating and betrayal."

Sin exhorted the judges not to allow the nation to suffer by allowing themselves to be used by the "powers of deceit," stressing that the Filipino is innocent.–Aurea Calica, Eva de Leon, and Sandy Araneta