The vice president of the Philippine bishops’ Conference has written
a letter criticising the trend of confessions and blessings being given
in exchange for money
“My dear brother priests, the sacraments are not to be celebrated in
exchange for money. The trafficking for money in spiritual things is
simony. It is a sin.” 
With the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed just around the corner, the Vice President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) put pen to paper and wrote a firm letter addressed to priests in his country.
Mgr. Socrates Villegas had received too many reports about cases of sacraments being exchanged for money; a practice shows great disrespect for the teachings of the Church.
The archbishop stressed that “there should be no prejudiced distinctions between the materially affluent and the materially deprived or between those “close” to the priests and those who are not.”
In particular, the priest recalled “it is prohibited to collect any donations for the individual blessing of graves,” even for those who are considered the Church’s benefactors”.
“The annual Commemoration of the Faithful Departed – Villegas concluded - is a loved and cherished Filipino Catholic tradition.”