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Holy Hoverboarding Singing Priest Has Been Suspended

By NBC News (www.nbcnews.com) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By NBC News (www.nbcnews.com) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Priest in the Philippines was suspended for Hoverboard at Christmas Mass.

A Catholic priest in the Philippines has faced suspension from the clergy. He was filmed welcoming parishioners to the final blessing of Christmas Eve mass while riding a hoverboard.

Holy Hoverboarding Singing Priest Has Been Suspended[/tweetthis]

The diocese in question was located at San Pablo, Laguna. The priest was identified by the church as Father Albert San Jose. He rode the scooter, a self balancing device, on the aisles. The video clearly showed the delighted congregation applauding the priest.

The reaction from the diocese was swift; a statement was issued which had an image posted on its Facebook page within days. The post clearly said that what Father Albert San Jose did was wrong. It showed that the priest greeted his congregation and sang Christmas songs while on his hoverboard. It reminded the reader that the priest is now out of that parish to give him the opportunity to “reflect”.

The statement by the diocese goes further to proclaim that doing the Eucharist means giving the maximum reverence and respect possible. It is highest worship in Church and should not be considered a personal celebration. It is not expected that an individual will introduce something new to garner attention.

THE FOLLOWING IS SAN PABLO DIOCESE'S STATEMENT ON THE 'HOVERBOARD-RIDING PRIEST'…

Posted by NOVUS ORDO Insider on Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Father Jose quickly acknowledged his fault and said that this incident is a kind of wakeup call. The priest also said that what he had done was wrong and promised that it wouldn’t occur again. The parish apologized for the incident.

One version of the priest’s hoverboard adventure was uploaded to the internet by Novus Ordo- the orthodox Catholic group. It was shared on the group's Facebook page, and from there the video was widely shared. Social media reaction, however, was mixed.

One viewer of the video commented by saying that the priest totally disrespected the Lord. He also disrespected everyone in the congregation. The same viewer goes on to say that Father Jose, in addition to his many supposed faults, couldn’t even sing. His views were echoed by another, who said that the incident in question was ridiculous. He asked how the people can meditate inside the church where the holy mass is scheduled to happen when such incidents take place.

Other viewers, however, supported the priest. They applauded his sense of fun. One viewer said that although he is Roman Catholic, he has little incentive to go to church. He pointed out that such activities may attract him back to the folds of his church. The viewer also warned that if there is a stress on tradition, many Catholics will leave their church. 


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