EDITORIAL — Priests are humans too

Last Thursday in Barangay Pooc, Santa Fe Town, Cebu, three people were hurt after a Toyota Camry rammed into them from behind.

Because the driver of the Camry immediately took off without looking into the welfare of those he had hit, it was labeled a hit-and-run incident.

The identity of the Camry driver later added spice to the story; he was a priest assigned to the local parish.

He has since turned himself over to the police and has even been released after an amicable settlement between him and some of the victims was reached.

His leaving the scene of an accident that he caused was deplorable. More so when you consider that he is a man of the cloth and has the obligation to serve as an example to the ordinary people of what to do and what not. And one of his victims did suffer a serious injury; what if it had been worse?

But while he is a priest let’s not forget that he is also a human being. He did admit to the police that he was experiencing high levels of stress at the time of the accident. The fear he experienced after seeing that he had caused others to be injured, the apprehension of being immediately confronted for his actions when he may not be able to immediately justify them, could have triggered his flight response, as it would in any individual who is under a great amount of stress and not thinking clearly.

And to his great credit, he did turn himself over to authorities, unlike other drivers in hit-and-run incidents where the results have been worse.

This isn’t to justify his actions of course; no one should flee an accident they caused. This just to point out that while we condemn his leaving the scene with the injured, we laud his actions after the fact, and accept the fact that just like any of us, even men of God make mistakes.