Former Carmelite priest Rico Sabanal is still reportedly conducting Mass, 14 years after being dismissed from the priesthood. (Photo: Cubao Diocese)
A Philippine diocese has taken the unusual step of issuing a circular formally warning all Catholics to steer clear of a former Carmelite priest still conducting Mass, 14 years after being dismissed from the priesthood.
Cubao Diocese in Manila on Feb. 5 told all Catholics that Rico Sabanal, formally of the Carmelite Order, had been stripped of his priestly functions and dismissed from the order back in 2008 because of a grave violation of Canon Law 694.
The announcement came after the diocese received reports that Sabanal was still conducting Masses in the Manila suburb of Quezon City, which comes under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Cubao.
Sabanal "is no longer a Roman Catholic Priest and has no priestly faculty to perform any religious activities anywhere in the Philippines,” Father Edward Sison, the diocese chancellor said in the circular.
“Regrettably, we have learned that he is being invited to celebrate Mass in Quezon City Hall Offices, different parishes and chapels within the diocese.”
The diocese called on Catholics not to invite him to carry out priestly functions.
Sabanal was dismissed on Aug. 30, 2008 for violating Canon 694. It is unclear what offense he committed but it allows for a member of a religious congregation to be dismissed if he “defected notoriously from the Catholic faith, contracted marriage or attempted it.”
In 2019, Pope Francis added being “illegitimately absent from a religious house for 12 consecutive months,” as another reason for dismissal under 694.
The Carmelite Order also confirmed that Sabanal was no longer with their order.
A parishioner who attended a Mass conducted by Sabanal said the former priest introduced himself as being part of the Carmelite Order by wearing a brown habit.
The Carmelites are known for their brown habit that originated in the 1190s worn by the first hermits on Mount Carmel.
“He was wearing the brown habit over his priestly vestments. He still says Mass because I was able to attend one at Quezon City Hall,” Cubao parishioner Jocelyn Geruner told UCA News.
She said it was “easy” for Sabanal to celebrate Masses in government and private offices because no one was aware of his dismissal.
