Written By Chad Merda Posted: 12/29/2015, 12:50pm 
 
 The good Lord may have saved him from wiping out on his new hoverboard , but one priest in the Philippines couldn’t be saved from a suspension at the hands of the Diocese of San Pablo after he used a hoverboard during Christmas Eve Mass. 
 
 The diocese announced the suspension on Tuesday, according to Rappler. It did not publicly name the priest. 
 
 The incident, which happened before the final blessing, was all captured on video. 
 
 In a statement, the diocese said the priest “will be out of the parish and will spend some time to reflect on this past event. He would like to apologize for what happened.” 
 
 It also described the incident as “a wake up call for him.” 
 
 “He acknowledged that his action was not right and promised that it will not happen again,” the diocese said in its statement. 
 
 In announcing the suspension, the diocese said the priest failed to realize that the Mass is the church’s highest form of worship. 
 
 “It is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously introduce something to get the attention of the people,” the diocese said. 
 
 In the priest’s defense, at least he didn’t get the attention of his flock by doing this: 
 
 A video posted by MIGATTI- $399 (@migattiusa) on Dec 26, 2015 at 7:44am PST 
 
 h/t: Religion News Service ||||| A Catholic priest in the Philippines has been forced to repent after he took a spin on a hoverboard — during Christmas Eve Mass. 
 
 The unidentified holy roller drew the ire of the Diocese of San Pablo after cell phone video footage of him — riding up and down the nave of his church with a microphone in hand and singing "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You" — went viral. 
 
 When he stepped off the device to deliver the final blessing, his parishioners gave him a round of applause. 
 
 His superiors were less amused. 
 
 "That was wrong," the diocese flatly declared in a statement posted online. "It is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously introduce something to get the attention of people." 
 
 The priest has gotten the message — and is apologizing. 
 
 "The priest said that it was a wake-up call for him," the diocesan statement reads. "He acknowledged that his action was not right and promised that it will not happen again." 
 
 The motorized man of the cloth has been yanked from his church in metro Manila and "will spend some time to reflect on this past event," the statement concludes. 
 
 Hoverboards were one of the hottest Christmas gifts this year despite the dangers of falling off the self-balancing, two-wheeled, battery-powered scooters. ||||| Dallas Bishop Edward Burns addresses the media Aug. 19, 2018, during a news conference. The Rev. Edmundo Paredes is accused of molesting teens and stealing from his parish, St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Dallas, where he had served for 27 years. (Photo: Rex C Curry, The Dallas Morning News via AP) 
 
 DALLAS – A Dallas priest accused of molesting teens and taking at least $60,000 from his parish now is missing, Roman Catholic Church officials said. 
 
 At St. Cecilia Catholic Church, where the Rev. Edmundo Paredes had served for 27 years, parishioners said Sunday that he may have fled to his native Philippines, where he has been taking annual vacations. 
 
 Bishop Edward Burns told parishioners over the weekend the Dallas Diocese has hired two private investigators to try to track Paredes down. 
 
 "Now that we know of his criminal sexual acts, we want to get a handle on him," Burns said. 
 
 ► Aug. 20: Pope Francis blasts clergy 'atrocities': 'We showed no care for little ones' 
 
 ► Aug. 19: Clergy abuse hotline calls 'surging' after scathing grand jury report 
 
 ► Aug. 19: Pennsylvania priests, parishioners push forward in faith 
 
 The church first began investigating Paredes in May 2017 over allegations he stole $60,000 to $80,000 in cash from the parish. The priest admitted to the financial misconduct, was suspended from ministry and removed from the church in June 2017, the bishop said. 
 
 St. Cecilia had a celebratory Mass for Paredes on June 1, 2017, according to a St. Cecilia Catholic School Facebook post. And another Facebook post, now not available publicly, called it a retirement celebration. 
 
 The Rev. Edmundo Paredes prepares for communion June 5, 2008, at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Dallas. Paredes, a Texas priest now accused of molesting teens and stealing from his parish, has gone missing. (Photo: Juan Garcia, The Dallas Morning News via AP) 
 
 But in February, church officials received allegations that Paredes had molested three teen boys more than a decade ago. Diocese officials immediately filed a report with law enforcement agencies to launch a criminal investigation, Burns said. 
 
 The diocese wasn't aware of the sexual-assault allegation when Paredes was suspended, diocese spokeswoman Annette Gonzales Taylor said. 
 
 "The allegations were found to be credible," Burns said. 
 
 Paredes can no longer administer the sacraments or otherwise represent himself as a priest, the bishop said. 
 
 Burns disclosed the allegations to parishioners Sunday after consulting with the Diocesan Review Board, a group of nonclergy Catholics who counsel the diocese on matters involving the sexual abuse of minors. The information wasn’t disclosed earlier because officials didn’t want to hinder the police investigation or compromise the victims’ identities, Gonzales Taylor said. 
 
 However, after a Pennsylvania grand jury released a nearly 900-page report Tuesday detailing allegations of sexual abuse against 301 priests, Burns said telling parishioners at Parades' former church was necessary. 
 
 Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests contend that Burns waited too long. 
 
 ► Aug. 18: Some priests sent to psychiatric clinics for sex-abuse treatment 
 
 ► Aug. 17: Why the Catholic Church still struggles with sexual abuse scandals 
 
 "Why would Bishop burns suppress this crucial information?" Lisa Kendzior and Paul Petersen, Dallas chapter leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement. "Was it to protect the diocese from scandal? 
 
 "What about concern for the safety of children and the need to comfort any survivors?" they asked. "Where is the transparency that the Catholic bishops promised?" 
 
 After Mass on Sunday, Sylvia Segura, 61, told The Dallas Morning News that she broke down in tears because the news about Paredes caught her by surprise. 
 
 ► Aug. 16: Catholic Church had 'playbook' to keep priest abuse secret, FBI said 
 
 ► Aug. 16: 40 Pennsylvania priests confessed their crimes; little was done afterward 
 
 When she heard the bishop's letter being read from the pulpit, Segura said she expected a statement of solidarity with the Pennsylvania grand jury report. 
 
 "Just to find out that it was in our very own house that it had happened," she said. "It was very, very hard." 
 
 Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow WFAA on Twitter: @wfaa 
 
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 ► Aug. 15: Victims hope Pennsylvania is 'wake up call' other dioceses need 
 
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 ► Aug. 14: Pennsylvania grand jury report: Read the full document 
 
 ► Aug. 11: Some priests named in clergy sex abuse report remain in ministry 
 
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– A priest rolling around his church on a "hoverboard" while singing May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You on Christmas Eve earned a round of applause from his congregation and a quick suspension from his diocese, NBC News reports. It's unknown how the birthday boy felt about the whole thing. According to Sun Times, the unnamed priest's song-and-roll routine took place just before the end of mass at a church in the Philippines. Fortunately for those who couldn't be in attendance, the whole thing was caught on video. "That was wrong," Rappler quotes a statement from the Diocese of San Pablo as saying. “[Mass] is the Church’s highest form of worship. Consequently, it is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously introduce something to get the attention of the people.” The priest's suspension was announced Tuesday, with the diocese stating that the priest is repentant and views the incident as a "wake-up call," Sun Times reports. "[He] will spend some time to reflect on this past event," reads the diocese's statement. "He would like to apologize for what happened.” A group advocating for a return to the traditional Latin mass used the priest's hoverboard jaunt as evidence of the further degradation of Catholic worship. "This calls for a reparation," the group posted on Facebook. According to NBC, so-called hoverboards were one of the most gifted items this Christmas. But Rappler reports they are facing a possible ban in the Philippines. (Even shoplifters are getting in on the trend.)