Leo XIV’s New Bishop Resigned Before Consecration

Rev Gerardo Saco resigned from his appointment as Bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran in the Philippines.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Rev. Saco on 25 March 2026, with the episcopal ordination scheduled for 26 May.
On 5 May, Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy announced that Leo XIV had accepted Rev Saco’s resignation.
Rev Saco suddenly discovered a “change of heart” and “human limitations and inadequacies”. However, it is more likely that there is an undisclosed issue behind this decision.
Choosing Bishops with Hidden Scandals
Declining after papal appointment and before ordination used to be very rare in the Church. It has increased in the past decade as a side effect of deliberately appointing compromised or unsuitable candidates.
In Argentina alone, Francis appointed three priests as bishops who then resigned from the episcopal consecration weeks later.
Bishop Pascalis Syukur, who was reportedly in a romantic relationship with a woman and had fathered two children, accepted Pope Francis’s …More