PHILIPPINES
National Catholic Reporter
Sep. 27, 2012
By Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON — A National Geographic magazine cover story identifies a Philippine Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse in the United States as fueling his country’s illegal trade in ivory.
In the course of his research for the October issue, Bryan Christy learned that Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, director of worship for the Archdiocese of Cebu, Philippines, had been accused of child sex abuse more than two decades ago but was still serving in priestly ministry. Christy said he was “surprised. Yes, I was surprised.”
The article highlights Garcia’s extensive ivory religious icon collection and quotes him giving tips on how to smuggle ivory into the Philippines. It also included details of the sexual abuse complaint against him from the 1980s, when he served as a Dominican priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was expelled from the Dominicans and returned to the Philippines.
In a statement Wednesday, the Cebu Archdiocese said the Vatican had been looking into the sexual abuse complaints against Garcia “long before the (ivory trade) controversy erupted.”
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