Presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte (Photo: Vincent Go)
MANILA, Dec. 3, 2015— A Catholic bishop called on presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte “to stop drama” and instead elaborate his allegations that he was sexually abused by a priest.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said Duterte must do away with theatrics and identify his abuser or file a complaint.
“If there’s a mistake committed against him, he must reveal it immediately,” Pabillo said.
According to the prelate, even Pope Francis is calling on clergy sex abuse victims to come out in the open so that cases will be addressed properly.
Not cursing the pope
Duterte yesterday claimed that a priest sexually molested him during his high school years at the Ateneo de Davao.
This was after the tough-talking Davao mayor received flak from the bishops and Catholics for supposedly cursing the Pope.
Duterte already apologized but denied cursing the Pope, saying he was only criticizing the government’s incompetence in traffic management traffic during the papal visit in Manila in January.
Duterte also said he is wiling to withdraw from the presidential race if the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines asks him to but not without a warning.
According to him, he will expose the Church’s “sordid” past and the misdeeds of many clergymen.
Cleaning up the ranks
The prelate, however, clarified said no one is preventing Duterte from running and urged the mayor to prove his accusations.
“It will also help clean our ranks,” he said. “Nobody’s perfect. We all commit mistakes. He should also call our attention and we will fix our shortcomings.”
Meanwhile, a Catholic priest Davao said that media reports that he defended Duterte’s actions were not true. [SO ANOTHER LIES BY DUTERTE FOLLOWERS]
I don’t think Duterte needs to be defended. He can do it himself so well. He is a clever politician,” said Msgr. Paul Cuison of Davao archdiocese.
Cuison, who is on a vacation in Camiguin since last Sunday, also said he haven’t watched Duterte’s video of cursing on the Pope yet.
“It is sad that my name was used. I value my privacy. I never want to be dragged into controversies,” he said. (Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)
SOURCE:
http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=68757