Rody, CBCP head hold dialogue today

DAVAO CITY – President Duterte again professed his belief in God, contrary to what critics said against him after calling the Almighty “stupid.”

“I have deep, abiding faith in God,” Duterte reiterated here yesterday.

Duterte made the statement on the eve of his meeting with Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles in Malacañang today.

The last time Duterte had a meeting with Valles was during the fire that engulfed the New City Commercial Center Mall here last December.

Both Valles and the President comforted the relatives of the 38 victims who perished in the fire. The victims worked in a call center located at the mall.

The meeting between the President and Valles today actually resulted from an earlier meeting between the committee Duterte formed, which included presidential spokesman Harry Roque, and Papal Nuncio Gabriel Giordano Caccia in his Manila residence last week.

Valles and Duterte could be considered as friends since they are both from Davao City.

It was Valles whom Duterte had sought an audience with on Dec. 4, 2015 when he was still city mayor and presidential candidate, fond of speaking profanities and cuss words.

But it could not be ascertained what Valles would be telling the President this time, after lecturing him on Christian values during their dialogue in 2015.

The President and the Catholic Church as well as other religious leaders have issued conflicting statements on his controversial remark calling God “stupid.”

“You know, I have this deep and abiding faith in God. But my God, my concept of God is not – like my values in life. The lessons I learned in life, the hard ways and the capacity to seek someone who has… somewhere a universal mind,” the President said.

The President stressed he has a different notion of a God which he said would not have allowed injustice, suffering, killings and even poverty.

“But I do not think of my God as a God that is applicable here. Otherwise there would be no widespread injustice: hunger, killings and all. And this is why I told them (public), do not get criticize the clergy,” Duterte said.

Separation of church, state

Duterte has cited the principle of separation of church and state in hitting back at members of the clergy who are critical of his policies.

Duterte, who has drawn flak for his bloody war on illegal drugs and his provocative remarks on God, said the religious sector should be “neutral” when it comes to government because of the principle.

“When you criticize me, criticize me with all your heart’s content. Do it. I’m even asking you to do it so I will know whether you are displeased or not with my performance,” Duterte said during the inauguration of Malayan Colleges in Davao City last Saturday.

“But when you are a religious, you have to be something of a neutral when it comes to your faith and even when it comes to government because it is really the concept of a republican system that there is a separation of church and state,” he added.

The separation of church and state, which is enshrined in the Constitution, prohibits the establishment of a national religion and state interference in the free exercise of the religious belief of citizens.

Some Catholic priests and lawyers have said the church has the obligation to speak against social ills because governance has a moral dimension. The 1987 Constitution also recognized the spiritual dimension of citizens when it stated that educational institutions shall “teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline.”

Duterte has been at odds with the Roman Catholic Church, the religious group of more than 80 percent of Filipinos, because of his crackdown on illegal drugs and his promotion of artificial birth control methods.

Catholic bishops and human rights groups have been expressing concern over the anti-drug war, which has left about 4,000 people dead. The Church also teaches that the natural purpose of sex is procreation and contraceptives and other artificial birth control methods violate the natural law.

Duterte’s rift with the Church widened last month when he called God “stupid” for allowing temptation to tarnish his creation. The President, a Roman Catholic, claimed later on that he was reacting to Sister Patricia Fox, an Australian nun facing possible deportation for allegedly joining partisan activities.

Officials have explained the President’s belligerence by citing the sexual abuse he allegedly experienced in the hands of an American priest when he was in high school.

Duterte vowed to keep quiet on his tiff with the Church two weeks ago but continued, nevertheless, to question its practices.

“If you pity the poor, if you really want to help, why do you keep on collecting money? It (collection basket) is passed around three times,” the President said.