Duterte to mend rift with Church

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President Rodrigo Duterte has formed a three-man panel to hold a dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious groups in the wake of his controversial remarks against God and teachings of Christianity, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

In a news conference in Davao City, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte designated him, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella and Pastor “Boy” Saycon to lead the dialogue with different religious groups in a bid to address the rift between the President and the Church.

Saycon, a member of the EDSA People Power Commission, is a self-proclaimed civic leader, while Abella, the former Malacañang spokesman, is a pastor by profession.

“Alam ko po, merong separation of Church and State, hindi po na kailangang makipagdayalogo pero minabuti na po ng Presidente na sige, buksan natin ang proseso ng dayalogo [I know, there is a separation of Church and State, we don’t really need to hold a dialogue but still the President has decided to open the process of holding a dialogue],” Roque told reporters, saying Duterte made the decision on Monday night.

“Siguro po, ang tema ng mga pag-uusap e paano mabawasan yung hidwaan sa pagitan ng gobyerno at ng simbahan [The theme will be how to lessen the rift between the government and Church],” he said.

Roque added that he has coordinated with Saycon, who was tasked to reach out to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

He said he himself will get in touch with the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.

Roque added that they look forward to the “fruitful dialogue” with the Catholic Church given the friendly ties between the President and CBCP President Archbishop Romulo Valles.

Duterte and Valles hail from Davao City.

“So, hayaan po natin na ang agenda ay ma-define ng simbahan at ng gobyerno [Let’s allow the Church and the government to define the agenda] as the dialogue proceeds,” Roque said.

Welcome

Valles welcomed the President’s decision.

“To dialogue is to listen to one another, it is always good,” he said.

But Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on the Laity, expressed his doubts, saying it could just be a tactic of the President to distract the public after the outrage he stirred for calling God “stupid” and mocking the Christian faith’s creation story in the Book of Genesis.

“Palusot lang iyan para ma-diffuse ang criticism sa kanya (That is just an excuse to diffuse the criticism against him),” Pabillo said over Radio Veritas.

Duterte has been criticized by various quarters, including political allies, for saying he found fault in the creation story in the Bible and questioned God’s logic, saying He is “stupid.”

But in a speech on Monday, the President, who was born and raised as a Catholic, said he was not referring to his own god when he labeled God as stupid.

He added that he made the statements in relation to his criticism of Sister Patricia Fox, an Australian missionary nun, who has drawn the his ire for supposedly being anti-government.

A review of the transcript of the President’s speech, however, showed no mention of or any reference to Fox.
Duterte said nobody has the right to “bind” him to a certain belief, and that it is up to him whether to believe in God.

“If I choose not to believe in any god, what’s the “f*****g thing about it? It’s about freedom to choose one,” he added.

Duterte has long criticized the Roman Catholic Church leadership in the Philippines over its alleged hypocrisy.

Roque said Duterte must not be criticized for airing his views on religious matters as he has the right to do so.
Duterte’s attack on the Church, according to him, may be borne out of his experience with some members of the clergy.

“The incident must have been traumatic to the President. And I’m sure, tama yung sinasabi ng ating taong simbahan na perhaps [what the Church leaders said, perhaps, were right], there’s need for some kind of intervention,” Roque said.

The President had said he was abused by a priest when he studied in a Catholic school.

Roque said it was likely that Duterte’s controversial remarks against the Church will be taken up during the dialogue.

“I would be lying if I were to say it has absolutely no relation. Meron sigurong relasyon din iyan at ninanais din naman ng Presidente dahil parehong kabahagi ng lipunang Pilipino ang simbahan at ang gobyerno [There is a relation and the President wants this [dialogue]because the Church and the government are in the same society],” he added.

Roque sought to appease outrage over Duterte’s statements, saying the President is “only human.”

He advised Church leaders not to be “onion-skinned” because they too had “harsh” words for Duterte during the 2016 campaign.

BY: CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT

SOURCE: The Manila Times

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