US-based Pinoy priest charged with pornography hiding in Phl?

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino priest reportedly facing charges of theft and possession of pornographic materials in the United States is believed to be hiding in the country, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday.

The CBCPNews reported that CBCP president and Tandag, Surigao del Sur Bishop Nereo Odchimar received information that Rev. Lowe B. Dongor could have fled to the Philippines to avoid facing trial in the US.

Most Rev. Robert McManus of Worcester, of the Diocese in Massachusetts, wrote to Bishop Odchimar to inform him that Fr. Dongor has abandoned his diocese.

The 35-year-old Dongor, who has been charged with theft and possession of child pornography, disappeared before his scheduled court trial last Oct. 25.

The Filipino priest reportedly left a note saying that he was returning home.

“I presume that he meant the Philippines,” McManus said in his letter dated Oct. 13.

McManus added that a recent clarification from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith declared that “child pornography is a canonical delict that pertains to the sexual abuse of a minor.”

Dongor had been removed from active ministry and prohibited from wearing a clerical attire or presenting himself publicly as a priest.

CBCP said that Dongor was born on Feb. 17, 1976 in Iloilo and graduated from the Barotac Nuevo High School in 1993. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 2010.