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	Priest Must Answer to Bohol Bishop Inquirer April 20, 2010 http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20100421-265563/Priest-must-answer-to-Bohol-bishop THE conduct of a priest is the responsibility of his bishop, according to a high-ranking Cebu church official. Msgr. Esteban Binghay, a Canon lawyer, said that Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal is not responsible for Fr. Joseph Skelton Jr., an American Catholic priest based in Bohol who was convicted of sexual misconduct more than 20 years ago. “He (Skelton) was ordained in Tagbilaran, that means he is incardinated to the diocese of Tagbilaran,” said Binghay. “Tagbilaran (diocese) ang paninglan kung hain siya (The Tagbilaran diocese would be responsible for the priest),” he added. The Tagbilaran diocese is one of four suffragan dioceses under the Cebu archdiocese. The other three are Maasin, Dumaguete and Talibon in Bohol province. Binghay said he saw Skelton, whom he describes as a good singer, in a church activity in Cebu last year. The American priest is in charge of the Sacred Music ministry of the Diocese of Tagbilaran and also serves as associate pastor in Calape town, Bohol. Skelton was a 26-year-old student at St. John Provincial Seminary in Detroit, Michican in 1988 when he was convicted of sexual misconduct for molesting a 15-year-old boy. He was given three years' probation and dismissed from the seminary. He went to Manila where he continued his seminary studies. He was ordained by then Tagbilaran Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak in 2001. After learning Skelton had been ordained, the archdiocese of Detroit sent a letter about his conviction to the Tagbilaran diocese in early 2003. Tumulak said he doesn't remember if he received the letter, and in any case it would have been too late. Tumulak, who was Tagbilaran bishop from 1992 to 2005. said he had regretted his decision to ordain Skelton. He said he would not have ordained the American had he known that the latter was once convicted of sexual misconduct while still a seminarian in Detroit. Tumulak had said he was unaware of Skelton's past record when he made the latter a priest. Msgr. Binghay said it is the practice of the Catholic Church to expel seminarians who have committed grave misconduct. “In the Philippines, the priest himself is responsible for his actions and not the (church) institution,” he said. The bishops, not the Pope, should be blamed for wayward priests who got embroiled in sexual abuse cases, Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz also said yesterday. Cruz, a Canon law expert, noted that Pope Benedict XVI has been getting a lot of flak for the scandals currently hounding the Catholic Church. But he said the Church had hierarchy, and the bishops have been tasked with supervising the conduct of priests. Bishops, in turn, are answerable to the Pope, according to Cruz.
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