Transfer of 3 Filipino Priests Has Boycott Brewing at Carson Church

There was no choir at Wednesday night’s Mass at St. Philomena Catholic Church in Carson. The pews were more than half-empty. And instead of a sermon, Father Miguel (Mike) Java delivered an emotion-laden goodby in Tagalog, questioning his transfer to another parish. Long-simmering tensions between the church hierarchy--which in April ordered the removal of Java and two other Filipino priests--and Filipino parishioners, who say the transfers are racially motivated, came to a head with the announcement of plans for a boycott of Sunday Masses.

Father Timothy Dyer, vicar of clergy for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said Thursday that the transfer stems from a personality conflict between the church’s long-time pastor, Father William O’Toole, who is Irish-American, and Java. O’Toole, as pastor, oversees the priests at his church.

Dyer said Father Luis Ayo was recalled to the Philippines and left last week “because he was needed there.” The third priest, Father Ernesto Villaroya, had been practicing in the parish without a license from the archdiocese and was told to leave when the archdiocese was informed of the violation by the other two priests several months ago, Dyer said.

“It has nothing to do with ethnic backgrounds,” Dyer said. “ . . . We’re following the same policy we follow all the time when there is a personality conflict in-house.”

But before and after the Wednesday service, Filipino church leaders handed out flyers announcing a picket at the church Sunday to protest the transfers and urging parishioners to go to other churches. Protest organizers say the transfers were requested by O’Toole, whom critics accuse of cultural insensitivity and bias against Filipinos. O’Toole would not answer requests for an interview.

Gil S. Magno, a leader of Concerned Filipino Parishioners of Carson, a group supporting the picket, said O’Toole has threatened to do away with “Simbang Gabi,” a pre-Christmas novena of Masses with roots in the Philippines dating back to the 1600s.

In addition, several parishioners charged in letters to the archdiocese that O’Toole deliberately scheduled First Communion and Confirmation rehearsals on Wednesdays to disrupt special services dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, another tradition among Filipino Catholics.

Despite assurances from the archdiocese that the observances would be left intact--Simbang Gabi has been conducted at St. Philomena for 13 years--parishioners perceive the transfers as an indirect means of putting a stop to the services, Magno said.

The transfers and charges against O’Toole, say leaders on both sides, have begun to divide Carson’s predominantly Catholic Filipino community. The disagreements have prompted the archdiocese to delay for one year replacing the priests with other Filipinos, Dyer said.

“Now is not the time to send another (Filipino) priest in there,” Dyer said.

However, Dyer said allegations about novena services are “untrue,” and he praised O’Toole’s commitment to his ethnic churchgoers.

But Magno disagreed. “Even if we have the Filipino worship but we don’t have the Filipino priests, what’s the flavor of that worship?” he said. “They wouldn’t be done in Tagalog. For us, as a people, we are very priest-oriented. The priest is a very important aspect in our idea of worship. They took that away from us.”

Not all St. Philomena parishioners were in favor of the protest. Although upset about the transfers, several church-goers handed out flyers Wednesday, condemning the boycott. And rumors swirled of a counter-protest Sunday by O’Toole’s supporters.

Albert Velasco, who has been a member of the parish for 20 years, distributed flyers urging parishioners to attend church Sunday. He said he will not participate in the boycott because it is unlikely that such a protest will reverse or delay the transfers.

“I don’t think it’s proper to boycott the church,” he added.

Another point of contention is the percentage of Filipino parishioners at St. Philomena. Magno said Filipinos account for up to 85% of the parishioners, many from throughout the South Bay and Long Beach who are attracted by Tagalog-language services. He said that such a high percentage justifies the need for a Filipino priest. But Dyer said 40% of the church’s 3,500 registered families are Filipino.

In his address to Wednesday’s congregation, Java told parishioners that he is trying to fight his transfer to a parish in Long Beach. But at the same time, Java said, because he is a priest, he is sworn to obedience.

He fielded a few questions and went on with the service.

Amador G. Saenz, another of the boycott leaders, nodded solemnly toward the empty pews.

“Before we had this problem, this would always be full,” Saenz said.