A fake Roman Catholic priest has been excommunicated in the Philippines more than a year after he began celebrating masses at a Manila parish, the local church revealed last week.
Xavier Eubra de Borja began making the rounds of the parish in a black cassock last year, claiming he was back in Manila on vacation after being ordained into the priesthood in Russia, the church said on its Web site.
“Upon the recommendation of several parishioners, he was accepted as guest priest while on vacation prior to his return to his current assignment in Russia,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Web site said.
Borja’s family is from the area and he had served as an altar boy at a nearby parish in his youth, it added, without providing any further details such as his age.
He began celebrating mass, hearing confessions and hosting religious retreats at the Cubao parish, where he impressed with his command of the Latin language, according to the church’s statement.
The Web site said the impostor impressed with masses that were “reminiscent of all the reverence and strict compliance with the movements and rituals whenever traditional Latin Masses are celebrated.”
The fake priest was exposed when his parishioners checked the Web site of the Vladivostok-based Mary Mother of God Mission Society, which convinced them that no Filipino priest had ever been assigned there.
De Borja was excommunicated on May 30, more than a year after he began serving at the Cubao diocese, the statement said. He is now banned from attending masses, communions, or religious ceremonies of the Catholic Church.
(AFP)
菲律賓地方教會上周透露，一名一年多前開始在馬尼拉某教區主禮彌撒的冒牌神父，已被逐出教會。
該教會在其網站上表示，塞維爾•尤伯拉•迪•博爾亞去年開始穿著黑袍訪視教區，宣稱自己被授予俄羅斯教會神職，回馬尼拉是為了度假。
「菲律賓天主教主教會議」的網站上說：「在幾位教友的推薦下，正在度假準備之後返回俄羅斯述職的他，獲邀擔任客座神父。」
網站上還說，博爾亞一家出身該地，他年幼時就在附近教區擔任輔祭，至於年齡等進一步細節則未提及。
該教會的聲明中表示，他在古包教區主禮彌撒、聆聽告解和主持宗教靜修，對拉丁語的掌握令人印象深刻。
該網站表示，這名冒牌神父主禮的彌撒深深打動人心，「崇拜天主及恪遵活動、儀式的方式，都與傳統拉丁彌撒無異」。
其教區教友上海參崴「聖母瑪麗傳教會」網站查詢，證實未曾有菲律賓神父派任當地後，這名冒牌神父的身分才敗露。
聲明中表示，一年多前開始在古包教區服侍的迪•博爾亞，五月三十日已被開除教籍，此後不得再參加望彌撒、領聖餐禮或各項天主教宗教儀式。
（法新社╱翻譯：林倩如）
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