ALTHOUGH he is critical of the Catholic Church, President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, December 13, praised Pope Francis, whom he described as a "progressive" Roman Catholic Church leader.
"Itong Pope ngayon, progressive ito. Diyan ako. Bilib ako. Saludo talaga ako dito (The Pope now is progressive. I rooted for him. I admire him. I really salute him)," Duterte said in a speech delivered in Las Piñas City.
The President previously lashed out at Pope Francis for causing monstrous traffic jams in Manila when the latter visited the country in January 2015.
Pope Francis is perceived by his conservative critics as a "progressive" pontiff favoring social reform or liberal ideas.
Duterte praised the Pope while continuing his tirades against the Catholic Church, which he repeatedly branded as the "most hypocritical institution."
Before mentioning Pope Francis, Duterte once again lashed out at the local Catholic Church leaders.
Duterte, in a fresh expletive-laden statement, slammed the Catholic priests anew, as he recalled that one of the clerics wished for his illness.
"When you use a religion as a platform to attack me, then do not be surprised. Sino ba naman ang aanuhin ko (Who will I attack)? Then the platform itself, which is really the Roman Catholic Church," he said.
"At sabi ko, patayin ko iyang mga obispo na iyan kung sila mismo sa misa nila, saying a mass there, I think it was Trillanes who was there, sabi ng pari, 'Sana mamatay na ito, si Duterte.' Kung kayong mga pari, mga obispo, mga p****** i** kayo, if you can say that to me and wish me to die in a mass, eh bakit hindi ako mag-sasalita? Ade kayo rin. " he added.
(And I said, I will kill those bishops because they themselves, I think it was Trillanes who attended the mass, the priest said, "I hope for Trillanes's death." To the priests and bishops, you're all son of a b****, if you can say that to me and wish me to die in a mass, why can't I say the same? I hope you'll die too.)
Duterte was referring to Father Noel Gatchalian who joked in September that he prayed for the 73-year-old Chief Executive to fall ill.
The President said the church leaders were "dreaming" when they think they will go to heaven when they die.
He then told the clerics that he was ready to meet them in "hell" after death.
"Tutal sino namang maniwalang mag-punta kayong langit? You're dreaming. Lahat tayo, magkita-kita sa impyerno, kabaklaan ninyo, mga p****** i**. Eighty-five percent of them are homosexual, alam ninyo iyan. Yung ibang naiwan na 15 (percent), 'yun ang nagkakalat sa mundo," Duterte said.
(Who will believe that you'll go to heaven? You're dreaming. We'll all go to hell because you're all gays, you son of a b***. Eighty-five percent of them are homosexual, you're aware of it. The remaining 15 percent are also doing unlawful acts.) (SunStar Philippines)