PHILIPPINES
The Philippine Star
By Evelyn Macairan and Eva Visperas (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 2, 2015
MANILA, Philippines – He’s a womanizer who is worse than a dictator and does not deserve to lead the country, Catholic bishops said yesterday after Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte cursed Pope Francis in public.
The newly proclaimed presidential candidate apologized yesterday and denied cursing the pontiff.
“Is this the leadership by example that Mayor Duterte excites in us? Is this the leadership by example that makes a public official deserving of the title ‘honorable’?” Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement yesterday.
“We have so many leaders in office and many more aspiring to sit in office but are they examples of good citizenship? If the leaders we choose are to be leaders for national progress they must be visionaries and exemplary,” he added.
Former CBCP president retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz also warned the public that Duterte is “dangerous and worse than a dictator whom we knew once led our country.”
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