San Juan— A Puerto Rican Catholic priest was suspended by the Archbishop of San Juan, Roberto González Nievesafter allegedly canceled a mass for “indisposition of the pastor due to the use of alcohol.”
This was let González Nieves know in a letter written and signed by this on June 21 to the parishioners of the Stella Maris parishin the sector of Countyin San Juan, directed by the parish priest Antonio José Vázquez Colón, better known as Father Tito. According to González Nieves in La Missive, published on Tuesday on social networks, it was the priest César Santos who let him know about the situation of Vázquez Colón through another letter.
In principle, González Nieves said, “that due to its content and delicacy,” the letter “would have to remain in confidentiality.”
“However, that letter has reached some of you,” said González Nieves, referring to the parishioners, but “unfortunately it ceased to be a private letter between a priest and his bishop.”
“This letter informed me about painful circumstances in the parish regarding the health status of his pastor, such as a mass that was recently canceled due to the indisposition of the pastor due to the use of alcohol,” says the archbishop.
In the opinion of González Nieves, Santos “was in his duty to introduce me his concerns” and specifically “with the entire conviction of looking for alone and only the good of his brother priest and the good of the Church.”
“Neither entered and it was not his intention to create gossip,” said González Nieves. Given the concern of his brother priest, González Nieves said that “for some years” he has talked with Father Tito “about his fight with alcohol, trusting in his improvement.”
Similarly, the archbishop said that he asked Father Tito to undergo residential treatment for priests with addictions and did not want to. Given this, Father Tito asked the Archbishop for permission to take advantage of an individualized program with a psychologist in Puerto Rico.
“Regarding his request and his freedom, I granted him permission. But two years have passed without some improvement,” González Nieves lamented, who asked the parishioners to support their pastor “in their recovery process so that you can continue your grazing with you.”
