A church secretary has accused a leading Manila bishop of sexual molestation. Teodoro Bacani, the bishop for the Novaliches diocese in Manila, was accused by an unnamed 34-year-old woman of two counts of sexual harassment.
The woman, who has since resigned, alleges that Mr Bacani made sexual advances towards her twice, most recently on March 26. She alleges the first incident took place three years ago while the bishop was assigned to Caloocan City.
In a June 7 statement, Mr Bacani expressed remorse “for the consequences of any inappropriate expression of affection to my secretary.”
“For my part, I have put myself in the hands of the church, ready to leave the diocese if necessary for her good,” Mr Bacani said in his letter. In an interview that night with Radyo Veritas, a church-owned radio station, the bishop advised listeners against believing the sexual-harassment charges brought by his former secretary.
“Don’t believe these things right away, have pity on me,” he said. “Right now, a person can be accused of different things. But let’s remember that to be accused is not to be (guilty).
“Let us remember that a person’s name is very important to him. My name is also very important to me so I pray to God that should anyone accuse me of anything, may people not believe it right away,” he commented. The unfolding of events provoked shock and disbelief within the diocese as well as Manila’s wider Catholic community
“Everybody was shocked and I myself cried. Many of us were hurt but that was our gut reaction. Nothing has been proven,” Monsignor Romulo Ranada, Mr Bacani’s spokesperson, told the press. He added that while Mr Bacani may have displayed his affection in an inappropriate manner, his actions fall short of sexual harassment. Mr Ranada said the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines would support the bishop.
“I would like to believe that the CBCP supports him. Besides, he has been their collaborator for the good of the country and the church itself,” he said.
Antonio Franco, the Philippines’ papal nuncio, brought the matter before the Congregation of Bishops at the Vatican. He had moreover requested that the woman refrain from filing charges. She reportedly acquiesced on condition that she would go to court unless Mr Bacani resigned.
Gabriela, a women’s organization, said “no Filipina can ever muster the courage to come out and accuse a Catholic bishop of sexual harassment if it is not true.”
“In a culture like ours, it’s highly unlikely for a woman to come out in the open and claim that she’s been harassed,” Emmi de Jesus, Gabriela’s secretary general, said. “Often, it’s the woman who suffers and bears the stigma in the end. We’re convinced that Bacani’s accuser is seeking nothing but justice.”
She said her organization has yet to meet with the woman or her mother. Church sources however confirmed the mother’s account, clearing the way for Gabriela to take up the woman’s concern.
Ms de Jesus further urged Mr Bacani to delay a scheduled trip to the United States until the issue is resolved. The bishop was scheduled to leave for Kansas on June 9 to visit his mother and to seek treatment for his diabetes from his brother.
Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a former CBCP president, said he received letters from parishioners denouncing Mr Bacani’s alleged improprieties in the past, including public displays of affection and an alleged affair. The letters also demanded Mr Bacani’s resignation but Mr Cruz said he ignored the requests since the letters were unsigned.
Mr Bacani is perhaps the Philippines’ most influential prelate after Cardinal Jaime Sin and Cardinal Ricardo Vidal. The 63-year-old opposed the late Ferdinand Marcos’s dictatorship and also helped draft the 1987 constitution. He is regarded as a reformist within the Catholic church’s rigid conservatism and is known for advocating the rights of the impoverished. He serves as an adviser for the El Shaddai group, a Catholic movement usually courted by candidates during election campaigns.
The incident marks the second sex scandal to tarnish the Philippines’ Catholic church this year. Bishop Crisostomo Yalung, head of the Antipolo diocese, was reported to have sired a son and to be secretly supporting both the mother and child. The Vatican announced Mr Yalung’s resignation as Antipolo’s bishop last Dec. 7 but details were disclosed only on Jan. 30.
