MANILA (PHILIPPINES)
Philstar.com
June 25, 2018
Malacañang Monday brought up the child sexual abuse involving Roman Catholic priests as President Rodrigo Duterte is facing backlash over his controversial remarks about God.
Duterte drew flak after questioning the creation story in the Christian Bible and saying that God must have been stupid for allowing temptation to destroy his work in a speech in Davao City last week.
The president’s statement did not sit well with some Christians who accuse Duterte of blasphemy and disrespecting religious beliefs.
Critics have also scored Duterte for using his public speeches to rant about religion and to attack the Catholic Church, the religious group of more than 80 percent of Filipinos.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte’s comments about God stemmed from his bad experiences in the hands of a priest when the president was young. Duterte previously claimed to have been molested by an American Jesuit priest when he was still a student of Ateneo de Davao.
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