bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

The Philippine Catholic Church has apologised after a priest was filmed riding a hoverboard in church while celebrating Christmas Eve Mass.
In clips that have gone viral on YouTube and social media sites, a middle-aged man in a white cassock sings a Christmas song while riding a self-balancing electric scooter between packed pews.
The diocese of San Pablo said the priest rode the hoverboard inside his Miraculous Medal church in the town of Binan, south of Manila, “as a way of greeting his parishioners”.
“That was wrong. The Eucharist demands utmost respect and reverence... it is the Church's highest form of worship,” the diocese said.
WATCH: Priest in the Philippines deliver Mass on the move


Its statement was released on Wednesday by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, which named the priest as Father Albert San Jose.
“Consequently, it is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously introduce something to get the attention of the people,” the statement added.
“The priest said that it was a wake-up call for him; he acknowledged that his action was not right and promised that it will not happen again.
“He will be out of the parish and will spend some time to reflect on this past event,” it said, adding the priest also offered an apology.
The Philippines is a conservative bastion of the Catholic Church in Asia, the only state outside the Vatican to ban divorce. About 80 per cent of its 100 million people are members of the faith.


Holy roller: Hoverboarding Filipino priest ‘sorry’ for Christmas Mass stunt dubbed ‘capricious’

No Caption Available.

The priest sings as he rides a hoverboard down the church aisle. Photo: SCMP Picture

News

Asia

Southeast Asia