Priest says Sen. Santiago deserves the ‘fires of hell’

**Monseratto** · March 5th, 2012 12:59 PM

Nakialam na naman...pwede i-subpoena?

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:12 pm | Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 41share640 595
MANILA, Philippines—She may be untouchable in the Senate, but before the eyes of God, Senator Miriam Santiago is liable to “the fires of hell,” a Roman Catholic priest said Saturday.

Decrying the senator’s court antics at Mass on Saturday, Fr. Catalino Arevalo, the spiritual adviser of the late former president Corazon Aquino, said Santiago should apologize publicly for repeatedly berating prosecutors at the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“If you call anybody ‘You fool,’ you are worthy of the fires of hell. And she called them ‘gago,’ which is Filipino for fool, before millions of people,” Arevalo said in his first Saturday homily at the Edsa Shrine at noon.

“I did not say that. Jesus said that,” added Arevalo, the priest who gave the homily at Aquino’s funeral Mass in 2009.

Arevalo’s message was a reflection on the gospel the day before from Matthew 5:20: “But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire.”

His tone emphatic, Arevalo repeated his message to the senator without mentioning her name. And for publicly unleashing her sharp tongue, Santiago must repent, the priest said.

“Well, that was before millions of people. So she is, in conscience, bound to make a formal apology before millions of people if God will forgive her,” Arevalo later told the Inquirer in an interview.

“That’s the teaching of Jesus. You don’t do that, and if you do that, you have to retract it by making a formal apology before millions of people, otherwise you remain worthy of the fires of hell. I did not say that. Jesus said that,” he said.

Known for short temper on the Senate floor, Santiago figured in a verbal duel with private prosecutor Vitaliano Aguirre in the middle of trial on Wednesday, as the senator delivered another scathing attack on the prosecutions alleged lack of lawyering skills, calling them “gago” and describing them as brain-dead.

Aguirre, who had since quit the panel while facing contempt charges, was the first to stand up to Santiago on the floor, even covering his ears to shut off the senator’s “shrill voice.”

**Monseratto** · March 5th, 2012 01:04 PM

Santiago blasts priest over

She isn’t the type who would back down when challenged by a fellow politician or by a fellow lawyer. Neither would she when confronted by a man of the cloth.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Sunday came out firing against a Catholic priest who criticized her for repeatedly scolding prosecutors over their supposed incompetence in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Santiago took exception to a remark by Fr. Catalino Arevalo in his homily suggesting she could be “worthy of the fires of hell,” particularly for referring to the prosecution team as gago (fool) during a trial session last week.

“The Constitution provides for a wall of separation between Church and State. A priest cannot violate the law in the guise of criticizing a senator-judge with the ulterior motive of promoting his own political agenda,” Santiago said in a statement.

Arevalo, a Jesuit in his 80s who is close to the family of President Benigno Aquino III, quoted Matthew 5:20 in taking a swipe at the mercurial senator: “But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement. And if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council. And if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the fires of hell.”

‘Publicity hound’

“I can engage in a public debate with the priest and we can exchange quotation for quotation from the Bible,” said Santiago, who holds a master’s degree from Maryhill School of Theology.

“But that would be foolish, because the Bible can be interpreted in as many ways as there are Christian churches.”

Santiago said Arevalo “sounds very much like a publicity hound,” claiming the priest had asked reporters to write about his homily.

“And I thought humility in spiritual matters is a virtue,” she said.

“The priest is saying that he is close to God and I’m not. I say to the priest, judge not, that you shall not be judged,” she added.

Both at fault

At Thursday’s trial, Santiago berated prosecutors for suddenly dropping five of the eight impeachment articles against Corona.

She was also incensed by the prosecution’s pronouncement that it now had “overwhelming” evidence to convict Corona, even if the defense was yet to argue its case.

Santiago was even more angered when a private prosecutor, Vitaliano Aguirre, covered his ears each time the senator took the floor. Aguirre was later cited for contempt.

Former Ambassador Roy Señeres, Aguirre’s former classmate at San Beda College’s law school, said Aguirre should not be punished, noting that while Aguirre was cited for contempt by the Senate, Santiago was never chided for calling the prosecutors fools.

“He and Senator Santiago are in pari delicto (equal in fault). Both committed contemptuous behavior. Aguirre should not be punished unless Santiago is punished also. If the Senate can’t punish Santiago, they might as well not punish Aguirre also. The entire Senate would be committing a contemptuous act if they punish Aguirre only,” Señeres said in a text message.

“The Senate should not commit an injustice upon Aguirre,” he added.

Aguirre has since quit the prosecution team. With a report from Jerome C. Aning

**Zeus** · March 5th, 2012 01:56 PM

Sagot ni Sen Santiago...[
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/03...-there-no-hell

**Monseratto** · March 5th, 2012 02:13 PM

As if the threats of hell and conservative public opinion would actually deter Brenda...

Btw, may Master of Arts in Religious Studies at the Maryhill School of Theology with an average grade of 1.25 si Lady Mirriam.

**Zeus** · March 5th, 2012 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by Monseratto

As if the threats of hell and conservative public opinion would actually deter Brenda...

Btw, may Master of Arts in Religious Studies at the Maryhill School of Theology with an average grade of 1.25 si Lady Mirriam.

Oo nga bro, kaya mas masaya kung sumali siya sa mga religious talks dito

**Monseratto** · March 5th, 2012 02:28 PM

Hey Brenda, show some respect to the man of the cloth...as if.

^^^

In a statement, Santiago told Fr. Catalino Arevalo that under “[the Second Vatican Council], there is no hell; but even if there is, there is nobody there.”

“Under Vatican 2, the story of Genesis is no longer a historical fact but a myth. The Bible should not be read literally, but should be read in its Aramaic context. Unfortunately, some of the religious refuse to accept the changes started by Vatican 2,” she said.
"The priest is saying that he is close to God, and I’m not. I say to the priest, judge not, that you shall not be judged,” Santiago said.

The senator said she was told that the priest went around in order that his homily would be reported in the print media.

“It is like St. Paul writing letters to the Corinthians, and begging them to publicize his letters. This priest sounds very much like a publicity hound. And I thought humility in spiritual matters is a virtue,” she said.

“Under Vatican 2, priests and nuns should be treated like everyone else. They are not special people just because they have joined a religious community. It does not make them any more smarter or holier than you and me,” she said.

“I can engage in a public debate with the priest, and we can exchange quotation for quotation from the Bible. But that would be foolish, because the Bible can be interpreted in as many ways as there are Christian churches,” she said.

**niky** · March 5th, 2012 02:43 PM

Hahaha... binanatan ni Miriam.

Come on... if she doesn't respect anyone, why would she respect a priest any more?

**CoDer** · March 5th, 2012 02:48 PM

May Masters sa Theology pala tong si Brenda... Kaya pala ang lala ng sayad ng utak.

**ghosthunter** · March 5th, 2012 02:51 PM

excerpt from Miriam tells priest: There is no hell | ABS-CBN News

Santiago, who also holds a masters in theology from the Maryhill School of Theology, said the Catholic Church does not have monopoly over the truth.

“Under Vatican 2, priests and nuns should be treated like everyone else. They are not special people just because they have joined a religious community. It does not make them any more smarter or holier than you and me,” she said.

hahaha!!! sapol!

Priest 0
Santiago 2