Leo A. Soriano (born December 10, 1950) is a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church (U.M.) in the Philippines. He was elected in 2000 and held this position until 2012.[1]
Soriano is the second son of Benjamin Soriano, a Methodist pastor, and Purificacion Aranda, a teacher. He has two brothers and a sister. He was born in Binalonan, Pangasinan, and spent his early childhood there. His family moved to Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, he became an active member of the Methodist Youth Fellowship. After completing his Bachelor of Science degree he travelled to Manila and studied in seminary. He met his wife named Dania Aben while in seminary. They married in 1977 and have four children. Mrs. Soriano died on November 1, 2021.
Sariano started his ministry after graduating cum laude and as president of his class from the Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines. He then studied and earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Davao Medical School Foundation. He was appointed as Doctor in Mission for the Medical Mobile Clinic of the Mindanao Annual Conference. He served as a missionary doctor from 1989 until the late 1990s. This position led him to work in the underserved and remote villages and mountains in the war-torn area of Mindanao and Visayas.
He reached out to ethnic groups and underserved communities in the provinces of Cotabato, Davao, Leyte, Samar, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga and Palawan. When Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1992, he was working there with the Aetas ethnic groups of Zambales. He held that position until the project funded by the UM General Board of Global Ministries changed it to a Community-based Primary Health Care Program.[2]
Soriano was elected as Bishop on the 5th ballot during the 2000 Philippines Central Conference held in Cabanatuan, Philippines. His support and early election was unprecedented in the history of the U.M. His personal background, having family roots from the North of the country yet living and representing the South, became a symbol of the desire of the Church to be all-inclusive and intentional in representing equally all ethnic groups of the country.
He served as the Resident Bishop of the Davao episcopal area, one of three episcopal areas of the Philippines, for 12 years (2000-2012). His offices were in the Spottswood Methodist Center in Kidapawan City. In 2004 he was appointed to a four-year position as one of four voting members of the General Council on Finance and Administration of the UM.[3] He has served as a member of the UMC Council of Bishops, the UMC General Council on Ministries, and the cross denominational organizations Christian Conference of Asia[4] and National Council of Churches in the Philippines.[5]
He has acted as a spokesperson for UMC Philippines during the December 2003 typhoons and Southern Leyte mudslides[6] and signing a Bible sent to President George W. Bush as congratulations following his re-election, a 200-year-old UMC tradition.
On November 24, 2008, Bishop Soriano was re-elected for a third term as Bishop of the UM and was reassigned to Davao Episcopal Area.[7]
In 2010 he and several other Filipino clergy petitioned the US government to apply pressure on the Filipino government regarding their handling of human rights.[8]
He retired from active service in December 2012 during the UM Philippine Central Conference at Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.[9]
Bishop Soriano teaches at the Southern Philippines Methodist Colleges in Kidapawan, North Cotabato and the Bishop Han Theological Seminary in Bukidnon.[10] He mentors aspiring pastors from different Christian traditions and denominations on practical ministry. Using his medical background and pastoral experience, he designed a special course with his son Nezer entitled Introduction to Health Ministry that teaches young pastors and students about Wesley's emphasis on holistic ministry to the physical body, soul and the environment. Bishop Soriano also teaches Introduction to the Old Testament.
Soriano is one of the Filipino bishops that support an autonomous, affiliated relationship with the UM. His election is seen as an indication of the desire of the Filipino Methodists to be led by leaders who will move the Filipino UM a step closer to becoming autonomous.[11] He has worked actively at the grassroots level to listen to the voices of the local churches and hear their sentiments about autonomy, church growth, and other church issues.
He has also advocated for a harmonious living relationship among Christians and Muslims. The Bishop's office of the Davao Episcopal Area has been actively involved in the Christian-Muslim Dialogue that seeks to find ways and means to achieve peace in Mindanao.[12]
In 2022, he was one of the signatories in the UM’s statement in response to gun violence in the US.[13]