Ex-CBCP president Oscar Cruz, 85

MANILA, Philippines — Former Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz died from “multiple organ failure caused by critical COVID-19 infection” yesterday.  He was 85.

In a post on Facebook, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said Cruz died at around 6:45 a.m. at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, where he had been confined since Aug. 10.

In keeping with health protocols, Villegas said Cruz’s remains would be cremated and brought to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Dagupan City.

Cruz will be buried at the Santuario de San Juan Evangelist tomorrow after a  funeral mass at around 9 a.m.

Villegas said the public could pay their last respects  to Cruz from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.

Cruz served as archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan from 1991 until his retirement in 2009 and was CBCP president from 1995 to 1999.

He quit his remaining posts at the CBCP after he suffered from pneumonia in 2018.

Cruz was known for criticizing former presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III and even President Duterte. He also took exception to abuses within the Catholic church.

He founded the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng, which became a watchdog against illegal gambling in the country.

Cruz also published many books, including the CBCP Guidelines on Sexual Abuse and Misconduct: A Critique and Call of the Laity.

“He was a faithful shepherd. He was a courageous prophet. He was a brilliant canon lawyer. He was a patriot and pastor,” Villegas said. — Eva Visperas