Teodoro Cruz ''"Ted"'' Bacani Jr. (born January 16, 1940) is a Dominican, who became the first bishop of Novaliches on January 16, 2003, serving until November 25, 2003. He previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of Manila from 1984 to 2002.

Career

Bishop Teodoro Bacani gives the homily 2024-05-31

Bacani was ordained priest on December 21, 1965, in the

Diocese of Iba The Diocese of Iba (Lat: ''Dioecesis Ibanae'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the Zambales, province of Zambales and Olongapo, City of Olongapo. On 12 June 195 ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...

. He was also a former dean and professor in theology at the San Carlos Seminary. He served as auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and titular bishop of Gauriana from 1984 to 2002. He is also the spiritual advisor of the

El Shaddai El Shaddai (; ) or just Shaddai is one of the names of God in Judaism. ''El Shaddai'' is conventionally translated into English as ''God Almighty'', as ''Deus Omnipotens'' in Latin, and in . '' El'' means "God" in the Ugaritic and the Canaanite ...

charismatic group. Following the creation of the

Diocese of Novaliches The Diocese of Novaliches (Latin: ''Dioecesis Novalichesina''; Filipino: ''Diyosesis ng Novaliches'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese was created by Pope John Paul II on December 7, 2002 ...

on December 7, 2002, by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, Bacani was appointed as its first bishop. He was appointed as bishop of the diocese on January 16, 2003, on his 63rd birthday. In April 2003, Bacani was accused of sexually harassing his 33-year old personal secretary. He denied the allegations but admitted to making "inappropriate expression of affection" to her. He was backed by the diocese and El Shaddai who expressed confidence in Bacani. He resigned from the position on November 25, 2003. On August 15, 2019, Bacani joined the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...

Political involvement

Bacani was among the critics of the administration of former president and dictator

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

. He was among the framers of the

1987 Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and rat ...

. Amidst the impeachment of President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

, he supported the "search for the truth" behind allegations that Arroyo cheated in the 2004 elections. Bacani was critical of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) of the administration of President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

which he says is just used as a means for bribery. He alleged the DAP was used to bribe senators so that

Renato Corona Renato Tereso Antonio Coronado Corona (October 15, 1948 – April 29, 2016) was a Filipino judge who was the 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2010 to 2012. He served as an associate justice after being appointe ...

could be

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

. Bacani also oppose the purchase of

contraceptives Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

by the Philippine government which he believes is detrimental. Bacani joined other members of the clergy in condemning the war on drugs of President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

. For the 2022 presidential elections, Bacani disavowed El Shaddai leader's Mike Velarde's endorsement of then-candidate

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

's campaign. While he maintain he respect's Velarde's position, he called the endorsement as "very wrong" pointing out the reputation of the

Marcos family The Marcos family ( , , ) is a political family in the Philippines. They have established themselves in the country's politics, having established a political dynasty that traces its beginnings to the 1925 election of Mariano Marcos to the Phi ...

's corruption.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacani, Teodoro Jr. Filipino Roman Catholic bishops Dominican bishops Filipino Dominicans 1940 births People from Bataan Living people Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II