Bacani denies sex raps

Beleaguered Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. denied yesterday accusations he sexually harassed his former secretary, while Roman Catholic Church leaders cautioned against racing to judgment until the Vatican concludes its probe.

"As I leave, I want to deny most strongly the sexual rap imputed to me by some news accounts," Bacani, 63, said in an open letter to members of his Novaliches diocese in northern Metro Manila before quietly leaving for a three-week vacation in the United States.

Bacani’s spokesman, Monsignor Romulo Rañada, said Bacani’s action was not tainted with malice, and the bishop was sorry if his "expression of affection" was found by his secretary to have been inappropriate.

Wearing a beige jacket over a black cassock, Bacani checked in at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport around 5:30 a.m.

He stayed inside a VIP lounge, refusing to be photographed and interviewed by a horde of photographers and reporters staked out at the airport. Bacani mingled and prayed with some of the passengers.

At 7:20 a.m., Northwest Airlines personnel shielded him from press cameras as Bacani exited the lounge to board the plane bound for Los Angeles. He ignored questions from reporters and calmly walked towards Gate 12.

The bishop’s furlough includes a visit to his mother in Kansas.

In a statement issued last Sunday, Bacani said he was "deeply sorry for the consequences of any inappropriate expression of affection to my secretary."

On Monday, he asked "for the Lord’s mercy on myself and his pardon for the persons who have damaged my good name and inflicted pain on the church."

Bacani also feared a media "circus" that would prevent the daily running of the diocese in a normal way, which prompted his decision to take a vacation, Rañada said.

Rañada earlier said Bacani flew to the United States to visit his mother and other relatives, and to receive treatment for health problems.

Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said he has "total confidence" in how Rome conducts its confidential probe into the matter.

"We must refrain from racing to judgment against any of the parties involved," Quevedo said in a statement.

The Papal Nuncio, the Vatican’s representative in the Philippines, interviewed both Bacani and his accuser, and reported to the Congregation of Bishops in Rome, which will weigh the testimonies and decide on a course of action "that would be best for the people and the church," Rañada said.

The Vatican, which appoints Philippine bishops to local dioceses, had begun "a full-blown investigation" and may make a decision in three weeks, Rañada said.

The Nuncio’s office declined to comment on the scandal. A female staffer at the nunciature said Apostolic Nuncio Antonio Franco flew to Italy last week to visit a brother and is expected to return next week.

"A visit to the Vatican is not in his schedule but he might go there before returning to the Philippines," she said.

"We cannot prejudge the case. It’s now up to Rome to decide on the matter and Rome is looking into all angles," Rañada said, even as he stressed the beleaguered bishop was innocent and his conscience clean.

"The word inappropriate there is a relative term. It all depends on the persons involved. What is appropriate for you may be inappropriate to another person," he said.

"Faith is faith in God. The Church has its leaders and our leaders our only human beings just like any of us. We are prone to fail. Also, we can be subjected to temptation," Rañada.

Rañada said Bacani apologized "because some people are shocked, some are hurt, some are weeping."

"People are shocked because they couldn’t believe that Bishop Bacani, who has been a great defender of the poor and even women and who has been an outspoken critic of many policies in government" could do such a thing, he said.

At worst, Bacani could be expelled or forced to resign, he said. "The other possibility is for the bishop to continue unless this particular incident would really hamper his ministry."

No criminal case has been filed against Bacani.

Newspapers reported that the secretary, in her mid-30s, recently complained to Church officials and a left-wing feminist group, Gabriela, that Bacani made sexual advances toward her twice, most recently on March 23 when he tried to hug her. She has resigned as his secretary.

Gabriela urged Church officials to investigate Bacani. The group also called on women who have similar complaints to come out "to stop the harassment of women, especially within the sacred confines of the church."

Bacani should return to face the accusations, Gabriela said. "Why does he have to leave at this time?" Emy de Jesus, the group’s secretary general, said.

De Jesus dismissed Rañada’s speculation that the complaint was politically motivated.

"The woman did not immediately say who her aggressor was. We opted to help her regardless of the person she was accusing," she said. "No amount of money can compensate the plight she is in now. She’s stigmatized. Let us listen to the complaint before we judge her."

Bacani helped lead the campaign against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s and is known for his work among the poor.

The charismatic bishop is considered an activist in a Church considered a bastion of conservatism.

He has gained national attention as a critic of public utilities and of government policies, using a regular newspaper column as his pulpit.

Bacani said he has relayed to the papal representative in the Philippines his side of the matter.

In a statement issued Sunday to priests, his followers and his secretary, Bacani said he had "put myself in the hands of the Church, ready to leave the diocese if necessary for her good, and I am now taking ample time for rest and prayer in solitude."

"I beg the Lord again for mercy. I also ask pardon of Mother Church and of all of you and my secretary who felt hurt," he said.

Earlier, in a radio interview late Saturday, Bacani asked the public to be skeptical of the charges, advising them to "be careful or they could be tricked. Don’t believe in intrigues." — Sandy Araneta, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Pia Lee-Brago, AP, AFP, Reuters