Rody wants non-adversarial ties with Church

He has hurled vulgar attacks against bishops, accused priests of immorality and described the Catholic Church as “full of s***,” but President Duterte wants a “non-adversarial” relationship with the religious group, his spokesman said yesterday.

Ernesto Abella said the President is open to criticisms “if it were not adversarial coming from a moral high horse.”

“Basically what he is saying is, ‘Hey, we are all sinners here, right?’” Abella told a press briefing at Malacañang.

“We can all cooperate in the work but not from a place where somebody else is saying, ‘I’m better than you,’ ‘I am holier than you.’ That seems to be where he’s coming from. That he would like more collegiality, that he would appreciate more collegiality between institutions,” he added.

Abella said there is no need to have an adversarial relationship because “we are all referring to simply one country” and “are all building up one nation.”

The Catholic Church has raised concerns over the spate of killings linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs and has urged authorities to promote the sanctity of life.

The remarks drew the ire of Duterte, who fought back by enumerating the supposed corruption and sex scandals involving the clergy.

Duterte went beyond exposing the scandals and accused priests of having bad breath and having dirty hands when giving communion.

Despite Duterte’s personal attacks and angry rhetoric, Abella said the President does not intend to silence the Church.

“Like I said, he is open to criticism. But we do not approach the situation at hand from an adversarial (position),” the presidential spokesman said.

“We are not enemies. We can be critical of one another, but we are not enemies. We only have one nation.”

Asked if it was necessary for Duterte to use personal tirades – like accusing a bishop of having two wives – to deliver his point, Abella said: “I don’t know if you call it necessary but it certainly adds color to the conversation, right?”