ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 5, 2024 / 14:10 pm
Cardinal José Luis Lacunza, the bishop of the Diocese of David in Panama, apologized Feb. 4 at the end of the Sunday Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in David after having been missing for two days but found safe and sound earlier in the week.
Speaking from the ambo, the cardinal told those present, “I want to offer you my apology and ask for your forgiveness for the trouble I caused you in recent days. I know you had a bad time. Some shed abundant tears. I don’t deserve them, I tell you sincerely, but I appreciate them. And above all I appreciate your prayers.”
Without offering details of what happened during the time he was reported missing, the prelate commented: “It was a stupid prank. The fact is I didn’t do them when I was 15 years old and now I’ve done it when I am going to turn 80. How outrageous! The older you are, the more stupid.”
The Spanish word "trastada" which the cardinal used means “a bad action of little consequence,” according to the Royal Spanish Academy’s dictionary.