The priest apologized after removing the masks, claiming they were just “a business.”
On Palm Sunday, 60-year-old priest Rolando Peña tore the masks of at least two parishioners off their faces, arguing that their use is “nonsense” and that they are just a business.
The incident took place in the municipality of Corquín, Copán department, and was published by the TV channel Copán Sur, later broadcast by Honduran media and on social networks, according to a publication by El Comercio.
“Let’s not lose our culture, our religion. Look, I look at all this nonsense, go… ”says the priest, taking the masks off the believers and throwing them away.
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“(…) They are a business,” says the priest, then warns that he will not allow people who use them to participate in the mass. Those present immediately proceed to remove the mask.
The priest was identified as Rolando Peña, 60 years old. Images Illustrative and non-commercial image / https://bit.ly/3sLm1ol
The priest, dressed in a red chasuble, as prescribed by the liturgical calendar for Holy Week, boasted that he walked without any protection from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Look how I walk, go … Take it off, let’s go free, let’s discover ourselves,” he says. “I’m not leaving until the masks are removed,” he added.
Last Monday, interviewed by the HCH broadcaster, the priest Peña justified his attitude in his “way of being” and said he was only joking.
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“We must have faith in God. This crap (the mask), I use it, but this won’t save me from cancer, anemia, or any other disease. People misinterpret the things I say, ”he said, according to an El Comercio publication.
“If someone is affected, I apologize, but it’s my way of being,” he insisted.
On Monday, the priest apologized for the fact. Images Illustrative and non-commercial image / https://bit.ly/3sLm1ol
Darwin Andino, bishop of the Diocese of the West, which includes the Corquín Temple, clarified that the priest “does not have the authority” to force parishioners to violate biosecurity measures.
“If he doesn’t want to use the mask, he shouldn’t use it, but people should use it because there is contamination,” the bishop added in statements to local media.
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With about ten million inhabitants and a sub-registry of samples, the Central American country has more than 187 thousand cases of Covid-19 and four thousand 600 deaths.
The Honduran Catholic Church called on parishioners to celebrate Holy Week with biosecurity measures and physical distance in the temples, while processions were suspended for fear of contamination.