On April 1, a now-deleted Facebook post from the FEU Makati Student Council showed photos of a liturgical mass held as an opening invocation for the FEU Sportsfest 2024. The photos provided in the post suggested the solemnity of the event, and that the importance of the holy sacrament were emphasized during the invocation. However, the innocent post received backlash when people pointed out that the person who presided the mass was not actually an ordained Roman Catholic priest.
A social media user has posted on X (formerly Twitter) screenshots of the deleted Facebook post, subsequently calling out the admins of FEU Makati for the blatant disrespect to the entire Catholic church, as the person who was presiding was only wearing a liturgical vestment while offering the sacramental bread to the attendees.
Another post was made by a Facebook page for the community of Catholic Filipinos, in which they called out the attention of Catholic members to refrain from having “any priestly or sacramental transaction” with the said individual.
Both posts had accumulated heated arguments from the public, with a majority calling it out as an act of blasphemy by disrespecting the sanctity of the Eucharist. Many have pointed out that the robe worn by an ordained priest should be treated with respect and shall not be worn by others in their pretentious intentions.
In the Philippines, a nation heavily influenced by Catholicism, the backlash from Filipino Catholics was expected.
Some social media users expressed their frustration towards the incident, with one commenter stating, “Ouch totally busted! And in social media I wonder why did it take soooo long to discover? Some are losing religion in the Catholic faith because of some scandals and things like this.”
Social media users also pointed out the lack of awareness by the organizers by not confirming the background of the alleged priest:
“This is also a lesson to the Chapel Coordinators and also to the Coordinators of Church Organizations na ITIGIL NA ANG PAGKUHA NG PARI NA HINDI ROMANO KATOLIKO para lang magmisa. [This is also a lesson to the Chapel Coordinators and also to the Coordinators of Church Organizations to stop inviting priests who are not Roman Catholic to perform mass.]”
“Afaik, kaya siya pinost today since opening ng sportfest ngayon and totoong misa talaga intended for the opening of sportfest, school wasn’t aware na fake priest pala. He’s not a faculty of feu makati [As far as I know it was posted today (April 1) since the opening of sportfest and it was a real mass intended for the opening of sportsfest, school wasn’t aware that it was a fake priest. He’s not a faculty member of FEU makati.]”
Some even compared the incident to the issue regarding Filipino Drag Queen Pura Luka’s backlash after members of the Catholic Church called her performance an act of blasphemy, for ‘insulting a religious icon.’
“Hulihin nio yan.. pareho din silang “nambastos” sa katoliko ah.. bakit ung dragqueen bilis nio ipahuli? May pag persona non grata pa mga provinces… double standard talaga…” [Detain him, he also disrespected the Catholic Church. Why is it that when it’s a drag queen that’s involved, the action is swift? Provinces even proclaimed them as persona non grata. Double standard as always.]
As of now, the FEU Makati Student Council has not released a statement with regards to this incident.
Other POP! stories that you might like:
Some people are starting to question the legitimacy of the Taragis April Fools’ issue
Restaurant’s new ad tagline construction sparks debate among Filipino grammar police
‘Prank gone wrong?’: Man acts on takoyaki store’s April Fools’ post, tattoos logo on forehead
‘BLACKPINK clone?’: BABYMONSTER’s debut ‘Sheesh’ faces criticism for resemblance to BP songs
