Pope accepts resignation of another Filipino bishop

Pope John Paul II has reportedly accepted the resignation of yet another prominent Manila bishop, this time allegedly for siring a child and for involvement in a graft case.

The resignation of Manila Auxiliary Bishop Teodoro Buhain was accepted last week through a letter coursed through Apostolic Nuncio Antonio Franco, the Vatican’s envoy to Manila, sources said. A Roman Catholic Church spokesman said he was unaware of any resignation.

Buhain, the parish priest of the Quiapo basilica, was unavailable for comment. His staff said he left for Tacloban City early yesterday. He is one of two Manila auxiliary bishops. The other is Bishop Socrates Villegas, who served as spokesman for the recently retired Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin.

"Are there rumors going around regarding Buhain’s resignation? Yes. But are they true? I do not know and I would not give any credence (to) that," Church spokesman Fr. James Reuter told The STAR. "If there is such acceptance of the resignation, I would know."

Reuter, who heads the Church’s media relations office, is often tapped by Franco to disseminate information to the public. "There is nothing official," he said. "We have no word if he resigned or if the Vatican accepted the resignation, if there was any."

However, according to two independent sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the acceptance was made only recently and was based on the result of an investigation.

Buhain created a stir earlier this year amid a sex scandal involving another prominent Roman Catholic clergyman, Teodoro Bacani, whose resignation as Novaliches bishop was recently accepted by the Pope. He publicly denied fathering a child whose mother is a former employee of the Church-run Radio Veritas, which station he used to manage.

He was also implicated in a graft case at Veritas and has presented his side to the Vatican in a letter.

In June, the Church was rocked by another scandal after fortnightly newsmagazine Newsbreak reported that Bacani was under investigation for allegedly sexually harassing his secretary, now resigned.

Bacani denied the accusations but acknowledged making "inappropriate expression of affection." He helped lead the campaign against late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s and is known for his work among the poor.

The scandal came while the Catholic Church was still reeling from the resignation of Antipolo Bishop Crisostomo Yalung, who quit a few months earlier following reports he had sired a child with a married woman.

Early last year, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) vowed to prosecute and defrock offending clerics following scandals involving American clergymen who allegedly sexually abused boys serving in church.

The scandals because so grave they eventually caught the attention of Pope John Paul II, who strongly denounced sexual misconduct by clergymen as a "crime."

In July last year, the CBCP apologized for what it said were grave cases of sexual misconduct by Filipino priests in recent years and added it has drafted guidelines to address various types of sexual abuse and misconduct.

Local church officials traditionally have avoided publicly discussing sexual offenses by priests, who usually are among the most revered and influential community leaders in this predominantly Catholic nation, particularly in rural areas.

The Roman Catholic Church claims more than 80 percent of Filipinos as followers. Church leaders often criticize public policies on matters like population control, human rights and national security.

Earlier this month, the Church issued guidelines on dealing with sexual misconduct that included defrocking rogue priests on their second offense.