Fr. Suarez back for healing sessions
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/06/2009 3:47 PM
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Renowned healing priest Fr. Fernando Suarez is in the Philippines for a 40-hour adoration at the Our Lady of Montemaria Shrine in Batangas City on January 9 to 11 aimed at healing the nation.
Suarez said he will also be doing his controversial "healing sessions" for the sick although he said the priority is to cure the nation's illnesses such as corruption.
He said national rather than personal healing is the priority now since the country is being left behind by its more prosperous neighbors.
Suarez also clarified the controversy over the money that he receives from those who attend his healing masses. The money generated will reportedly be used to finish the Our Lady of Montemaria Shrine in Batangas.
"I've never asked for money from any of my masses. I never force anybody for money," he said.
The fate of the Our Lady of Montemaria Shrine, he added, depends on God's wishes.
Suarez also explained that the rosaries and sacramentals that are bought during his healing masses only respond to the people's needs.
"People want something tangible, something to remember this experience by. A cross or rosary can serve that purpose. We don't sell, we just ask for a donation for the rosary," he said. "Even the Vatican and Lourdes sell rosaries."
Suarez said shrines such as the Our Lady of Lourdes in France also ask for donations.
He disclosed that the Papal Nuncio, the Vatican's chief representative in the Philippines, has encouraged him to continue his mission.
Even Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu and other Catholic leaders have allegedly urged him to pursue his healing sessions, adding that he has not received any complaint from the Catholic hierarchy.
"The Papal Nuncio has encouraged me to continue my work....I am not the center of attraction anyway, I'm just an instrument of God's healing power," Suarez said. -- report from JOEY VILLARAMA, ABS-CBN News
