PHILIPPINES
Rappler
Pia Ranada
@piaranada
September 01, 2016
MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte, not exactly the holiest of men, said that he once mulled joining the priesthood.
“I consider[ed] at one time in my life [to be] a priest,” Duterte said on Wednesday night, August 31, during a gathering of a religious group in Davao City.
It’s unclear if this is another of his outrageous statements that should not be taken seriously.
But he followed it up with a statement that elicited much laughter from his audience.
“Mabuti hindi ako nasali doon eh ‘di ngayon naging bakla na ako,” said the President.
(It’s good I didn’t join the priesthood or else now I would be a homosexual.)
Even during the 2016 campaign season, Duterte did not hesitate to express his views on the Catholic Church.
Although he says he is a Catholic, he has blasted the church for “hypocrisy,” blaming them for sins like corruption and sexual abuse.
Duterte had even admitted he himself was sexually harassed by a Jesuit priest when he was in high school.
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