Duterte holds out olive branch to Filipino Catholics

Oct 25, 2017

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is trying to mend fences with Catholics, especially priests and bishops critical of his administration.

In the past, the president has accused members of the clergy — who have spoken out against his deadly war on illegal drugs — of having mistresses, among other slurs.

He called priests "sons of bitches," "corrupt," and "dumb" for not getting his jokes.This week, however, the president said he wanted to develop a "good rapport" with church leaders "for as long as we listen to each other."

"All is good when you listen to other people," said Duterte while attending the wake of the late Cardinal Ricardo Vidal of Cebu on Oct. 23.

Cardinal Vidal, who stood against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos during the "people power revolution" in 1986, died on Oct. 18.

When Duterte won last year's presidential election, the late cardinal described him as "a good person" and "easy to speak with."

When other bishops and priests criticized the president's war against illegal drugs that resulted in the killing of thousands of suspected drug users and peddlers, Cardinal Vidal called on people "to pray for our president, whether we like him or not."

In February, the retired prelate of Cebu said, "there should be understanding between the government and the church."

In a statement on Oct. 23, Duterte said, "[there] could be good rapport between me and the church and the people."

"We all need to talk," he said, adding that he attended the wake of Cardinal Vidal "because, first and foremost, this is my obligation as a member of the Catholic Church."

Even before he was elected president, Duterte had been waging a war of words against church leaders, even calling the Catholic Church "the most hypocritical institution."

The heat went up as the country's Catholic bishops and other religious groups issued statements condemning the government's war against illegal drugs.--Ucanews.Com