Charles Teves
On Monday, a Catholic priest was stopped at a checkpoint in Kidapawan City while transporting an image of the dead Christ from Digos City in Davao del Sur.
The police became concerned when they saw a “salvage” victim inside his car.
Fr. Jonel Peroy, a priest from President Roxas town in Cotabato province, purchased a life-size Santo Entierro in Digos City, Davao del Sur, for the Church’s Lenten activity.
While driving back home, police stopped him as he approached Kidapawan.
“That looks like a dead person you have inside your car,” said the policeman.
The priest sweated as he explained to the police that the item they saw was just a plaster statue of the dead Christ. However, the officers were not convinced and inspect it since it was in plain view.
When he got out of his car, the priest quickly glanced at his cargo through the car window. He agreed that it appeared like a person wrapped in plastic.
“They asked me to [alight] to look at what I had inside my car. They really suspected that something [was off] because of how my cargo [appeared]; it really looked like a dead man wrapped in plastic. Of course, it was the dead Christ. I was really drenched,” the priest narrated on his Facebook page.
“I unwrapped the Santo Entierro and told them I’m a priest so they would stop asking so many questions,” he narrated.
After seeing that it wasn’t a corpse, the cops laughed.
“We’re really sorry, Father. We thought you had just salvaged a man,” one of them said.
“Sir, just to tell you, I did not salvage Christ,” the priest replied.
The Catholic Church exhibits the Santo Entierro during Holy Week, specifically after the Seven Last Words are recited on Good Friday at 3 p.m., marking the time of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.
The Rev. Peroy praised the policemen for their diligence and for fulfilling their duties but found the incident unpleasant and tiring. Also, he expressed discomfort over something he couldn’t resolve.
