The sex scandal embroiling Catholic Bishop Teodoro Bacani has taken on political overtones and undermined the political and moral authority of the Philippine clergy.
It has erupted at a crucial time for the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Its most prominent and politically powerful member, Cardinal Jaime Sin, is due to retire as Archbishop of Manila when he turns 75 in two months' time.
Bishop Bacani was considered one of the possible successors, before his secretary of five years accused him of sexual harassment.
In the next few months, candidates will start campaigning for next year's presidential election. The Catholic Church, led by Cardinal Sin, has played a pivotal role in these elections.
Cardinal Sin was the first church official to wield his power against an incumbent president, the strongman Ferdinand Marcos. And it was Bishop Bacani who first defined the contours of this power.
In his landmark book, Church in Politics, he wrote that 'Cardinal Sin knows he is powerful', is 'at home with power', and 'projects his sense of power'.
