Cebu Archbishop requests return of pulpit panels to Boljoon church

The Archdiocese of Cebu is the rightful owner the pulpit panels donated to the National Museum, says Archbishop Jose Palma, who also requested that these be returned to the church in Boljoon.

“We are gladdened that the four long-lost pulpit panels from the Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santissima in Boljoon, Cebu have finally resurfaced and are now in the possession of the National Museum of the Philippines,” said Archbishop Palma in a statement.

“These panels were removed without permission from the Local Ordinary at the time, my predecessor, His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal,” he added.

Palma said that there is no record of a request made by the former parish priest seeking approval remove the panels and sell them.

“No official record exists neither in the Archdiocesan Archives nor in the Chancery Office of any request from the Parish Priest at the time, Fr. Faustino Cortes, requesting approval to deconsecrate them for removal, much less conveyance to third parties in exchange for monetary purposes of the parish,” the prelate said, adding that church property should be protected by the priests.

“The Code of Canon Law no. 1284 “all administrators, referring to the Parish Priests, are bound to exercise vigilance so that the goods entrusted to their care are in a way not lost or suffer damage.”

Palma also said that the priest, if he made a request, would not have been approved as the panels are considered sacred objects.

Tools of evangelization

The panels are not mere artwork, the archbishop says.

“They are integral to the patrimony of the church as part of her missionary work and thus considered sacred. Their illegal removal constitutes a sacrilege. They should never have been treated, then or now, as mere artworks for exhibition in museums, much less for private appreciation by the collectors who purchased them. For these panels are considered in the ecclesial rite as tools of evangelization,” he said.

“Given the foregoing, the Archdiocese of Cebu hereby asserts its ownership of these panels and requests their immediate return to Boljoon at the pulpit where they were surreptitiously removed,” he added.

Archbishop Palma also voiced hope that a “constructive dialogue” be conducted to discuss the issue.

The panels were recently donated by private collectors, Edwin and Aileen Bautista, to the National Museum.

In a statement, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) said it is also open to conduct a “constructive dialogue” with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Boljoon Mayor Jojie Derama and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma regarding the 19th-century panels which feature the image of Saint Augustine of Hippo.