“Wanted: Pokemon exorcist.”
Those are probably the words that some Catholic priests want to write on a signboard outside their parishes.
Fr. Ernie Cruz — the parish priest of Mary Help of Christians National Shrine in Barangay Don Bosco in Parañaque City, Metro Manila — recently observed that around 50 or more people have been coming to the church in the late afternoon to the early evening. It turns out that these people are Pokemon GO players.
Cruz later had to issue an announcement to the community, stating: “The parish wishes to remind Pokemon GO players that the church, the Devotion Garden, and the Adoration Chapel are places of devotion, worship, and prayer and those who enter these places must preserve their sanctity by refraining from playing the game if they are within the vicinity.”
However, the annoucement also added, “Everyone is welcome to play the game within the parish grounds including the oval driveway and garden, the Mama Conchita Park, and the parking area.” The announcement even ended with this cheer-of-sorts: “Happy Pokemon-hunting!”
Fr. Ronel Taboso — the parish priest of the Sto. Niño Church in Tacloban City, Leyte — can relate to Cruz’s predicament. He also observed the increasing number of Pokemon GO players visiting the church for the sole purpose of catching pocket monsters.
It so happens that the Sto. Niño Church has two PokeStops on the premises.
In a statement posted on the news website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Taboso had this to say about the Pokemon GO players: “They should use their time and energy productively and not waste their precious time. They should go to church for the right reasons.”
At some point, it got so crowded at the Sto. Niño Church that Pokemon GO players were lining up outside to wait for their turn to hunt down pocket monsters or collect game items inside the church.
In fact, the CBCP report revealed that some Pokemon GO fans even staged a “lure party” near the church last Aug 10, with the location doubling as a Pokemon gym where trainers engage their Pokemon in battles.
That said, why not take churches out of the game? Otherwise, there may be hell to pay. Not all parish priests may be as good-natured about the matter as Cruz and Taboso are right now.
