Archbishopric suspends healing rites after a video goes viral on social media

The Archbishopric of Valencia (Spain) has suspended the celebration of a type of “healing rites” that had been carried out for years in the parish of San Vicente Ferrer in Algimia de Alfara, after a shocking video became popular.

The images, barely three seconds long, show a person dressed in an alb and cingulum, holding a monstrance inside the temple. As he approaches a woman on the first bench, she collapses. In the space between the presbytery and the pews of the faithful, the presence of three people on the floor can also be seen, one of them wearing the vestments of an altar boy, as can be seen in this publication from the regional newspaper. Levante.

Sources from the archbishopric have confirmed to ACI Prensa that the episcopal vicar of the Moncada-Sagunto area, Ricardo Estrems, contacted the parish priest to find out the scope and circumstances of the events and agreed to suspend them until they are concluded. an investigation.

The archbishopric also reports that these types of rituals are promoted by two specific groups that, in principle, would be made up of Catholic followers of some charismatic current.

Specifically, there is talk of two groups, but no specific names have been offered. The only possible concrete clue has been offered by Eloy, sacristan of the parish, to the local media. A Puntwhen he stated that it is a “ritual imported from Latin America,” which he defends as “worship and healing of the spirit.”

The suspension of these rites decided by the archbishopric means that the parish will limit itself to hosting the celebration of worship and Eucharistic adoration normally, without exceptions. As detailed by the archbishopric to ACI Prensa, this decision is not final yet and is at the expense of the ongoing investigation.

To date, the archbishopric explains, the ecclesiastical authorities had not been aware of these activities, which had been carried out for years in the place.