SOMETIMES, you have to hand it to social media. While it’s full of noise, it also leaves many evils exposed—even when the culprit is a Catholic church.
Some disclaimers: First, I am a practicing Catholic, I love my God, and I value my faith, despite knowing that unfortunately, like almost every other religious establishment in the world, this one is deeply flawed and has committed ghastly mistakes throughout history (hello, the Crusades, the Vatican “ratline” that facilitated Nazi criminals’ escape to South America, pedophile priests—let’s stop there).
Second, note I said the culprit is A Catholic church, not THE. I don’t think other churches would do, or have been so spectacularly caught doing, something like this.
Screen grab from the Facebook page of the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Immaculate Conception in Malabon on April 5, 2026 (ICPmalabon1907 via Facebook)
Last Easter Monday, I received an angry message from my friend Atty. Anna Cabrera, executive director of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), about how, in its Easter Salubong Mass, the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Immaculate Conception in Malabon used a live dove in its ritual. They had unnaturally pinned the animal’s wings open, spreading them out so it was unable to fly; tied it to a bunch of colorful balloons; used the bird’s beak to remove the Virgin Mary’s black veil, a move symbolic of the Resurrection; then released the balloons to the sky, hapless (and indisputably doomed) bird in tow. I told Anna there was an environmental crime, as well—that those balloons would deflate and probably land in the water somewhere, killing even more animals.
The statement was made public the same day. Other groups like the Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) and CARA Welfare Philippines also spoke, in no uncertain terms, about the obvious act of cruelty.
“Does the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Immaculate Conception in Malabon need to resort to unnaturally and unnecessarily killing animals for a gimmicky version of the Salubong ritual?” asked the PAWS statement. “THIS IS ANIMAL CRUELTY that has no place in religious celebrations or in any gathering within society.”
The backlash was, to say the least, insane and immediate. Social media was flooded with complaints. Major dailies published a screenshot of the event, with Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of the Diocese of Caloocan shown on one side of the statue of the virgin, and historian Ambeth Ocampo on the other. With remarkable cowardice, the parish priest of the church said absolutely nothing, leaving the respected Cardinal to first express regret that he did not know that the dove would not be released, and later actually declaring that he was apologizing for the diocese. He said they would ensure that the dove was released next time, which was alarming in itself—there would be a next time? Splaying open a bird’s wings and possibly breaking its hollow bones would render it unable to fly, something the Malabon organizers didn’t consider.
The faithful wouldn’t accept the diocese’s hiding behind Cardinal David. Finally, on Wednesday, the “Rector and Parish Priest” of the church published an apology that was unsigned and did not feature his name anywhere. “The apology, posted on the parish’s Facebook, did not include the name or signature of its Parish Priest Fr. Mariano ‘Jun’ Bartolome,” reported the Inquirer. Oops, walang takas si Father.
I jumped into the Facebook fray, despite my fresh Holy Week resolutions not to. I lambasted the diocese, which, early on, instead of addressing the issue, hid behind the Cardinal and even disabled comments on their Facebook page—you know, the way corrupt politicians and cancelled celebrities do when backed into a corner.
Of course, there were a few defenders, Catholics saying this was for our Lord, that the Church was still supreme, yadda yadda. I thought I was reading MAGA rants (which, I’m told, is why some Filipinos make exemplary MAGAs—because they don’t like to think). Another asked what the difference was between killing the dove and killing a chicken for Jollibee. You eat the chicken, you moron. You don’t kill a chicken for Instagram.
The diocese hid behind the Cardinal and even disabled comments on their Facebook page—you know, the way corrupt politicians and cancelled celebrities do when backed into a corner
So I wrote on a Facebook post: So why the fuss over one little dead dove?
According to our faith, they bring enlightenment and peace (please refer to the Holy Spirit). Unfortunately, in my humble opinion as a Catholic whose faith remains constantly challenged and who is far from pious, the enlightenment this creature provided came in the form of unmasking once again the hypocrisy of an institution that has often let itself get carried away by pomp and ritual.
First, I felt very disappointed that this happened at a church, supposedly a place of mercy. Look at the dove’s picture, and get back to me if you believe this was a compassionate thing to do—and if the Lord would have said, “Good job, guys!”
Second, as PAWS declared, there was absolutely no need for this. I challenge what was said that the dove replaced the child often foisted up to remove the veil, for safety reasons. First of all, this is obviously a tradition thought up by humans who believed in spectacle over simplicity (read: mayabang). There were balloons after Christ rose from the dead? Talaga?
Also, kids can be foisted up no more than 6 feet in the air, still within reach—unless the adult Salubong organizers demand more height, more drama, and thus more spectacle (again: mayabang). I’ve seen this done, and a kid dressed as an angel can be lifted no higher than a playground slide, promise. Kids get traumatized? Then use a fake bird. But I can almost hear some loud-mouthed, (feeling) religious matron say that a live animal would make the ritual more bongga, like a circus act. Then she goes home to curse and slap her housemaid. You get my point.
Third, come on, guys. The world is already so full of pain and cruelty. That orange fascist is bombing children and messing up the world economy in the process. People are destroying each other. Do we really have to needlessly kill some more?
I call it a mini crisis of faith, because I am still hanging on to my own small and personal ways of practicing it, but trying not to think of the bigger picture (read: the Catholic Church in the Philippines and the people who run it). I have certainly met so many inspiring priests and nuns who truly embody God’s love on earth. But let misled Catholics have their way, and you get this disaster. So you’re telling me the rector and the parish pastoral council of the diocese in Malabon thought this was cute, and still don’t know about the Animal Welfare Act, or plastic and ocean pollution?
Also, as of this writing, Cardinal David has lost some fans (myself included) after he posted on his own social media page, saying, in effect, that he wished all this outrage would be directed instead to the loss of human lives in extrajudicial killings (EJKs). I wasn’t surprised that many articulate, reasonable-sounding netizens respectfully disagreed with him on his own Facebook thread, continuously citing Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ encyclical on environmental respect. I’m not sure where it says that caring about a dead animal automatically means not caring about people. Besides, death squads carry out EJKs. Remind me: Who killed the dove again? That’s the big difference.
I remember one other time I felt truly disgusted with the institution, and I’m sure some of you will remember it, too. In 2017, a monsignor from Taytay was caught bringing a minor into a motel, driving an SUV, and he had the nerve to pull a firearm on the policemen who arrested him. Turns out, they were on to him, because it was the third time the good monsignor had “purchased” a child from her pimp. He was spirited away, his face covered, and eventually sent to a rehab facility for sexually deviant priests in Tagaytay. Before his arrest, he was working in schools—let that sink in. And no, no charges were ever filed. I even saw a comment on the Taytay diocese thread saying the accusations couldn’t be true because the dear monsignor was a nice guy.
Look it up; Google “monsignor” and “minor,” and it’s all right there.
So is it over-dramatic that the intentional killing of a small animal—it happens every day, so what—would make so many Catholics angry? I don’t think so. It was right after Holy Week, a time of Resurrection and new hope, and one church thought it was a nice touch to include a totally irrelevant sacrifice for the obvious sake of optics. Make that animal-loving Catholics, since stewardship is in the Bible, and Pope Francis did ask us to care for the planet (please refer to Laudato Si, again)—and you’ll understand why so many jaws dropped, in disappointment at an organization that was supposed to provide solace and hope in these trying times, and not model to children and young people how to be cruel. So maybe Malabon neighborhood kids won’t have to think twice nowadays about stoning birds, torturing stray cats and dogs, and other such wholesome delights; kung okay kay Father, eh di okay!
Of course, tomorrow this will be overshadowed by more news: rising gasoline prices, less food for people, politicians making empty declarations, and more exhortations from church leaders, some of them respectable—and some of them certainly not. Let’s make sure we listen to the ones with their hearts in the right place.
Next Holy Week, I’ll be paying attention to that church in Malabon, and probably reminding people about what happened. It would help if you did, too.
