Tell it to SunStar: Not an anti-Christ

THE latest furor over President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks about the teachings of the Church relative to the Holy Trinity can best be described as much ado about nothing, especially knowing where it comes from.

In defending the church, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas would have done a better job had he left the President’s remark unanswered. It did not deserve an answer anyway, knowing that Duterte had made an even worse remark in the past by calling God stupid.

But if Villegas thinks he could discredit and destroy Duterte’s popularity and high satisfaction rating among the mostly Filipino Catholics who voted for Duterte, then Villegas erred in publishing that letter for his godson about Duterte’s statements.

To label Duterte as anti-Christ is a misnomer because one who expresses his thoughts and opinion on religion or religiosity as part of his constitutional freedom is not necessarily an anti-Christ.

To be an anti-Christ is to deny mankind’s necessity for God and if that is the case then why seemingly accuse Duterte of being anti-Christ when he himself has said many times that he has his own God to worship?

I worship my own God too, so does that make me anti-Christ? What is important is that Duterte has not imposed his will on which God to worship, much less assert himself as religious authority.

There is no doubt that Villegas’s godson will have a hard time understanding what anti-Christ truly means. Surely, Duterte is not Satan manifesting as man. His love of country and his readiness to die for the Filipino people remains unquestioned.

What Villegas should do instead is continue preaching the teachings and doctrines of the Catholic faith if he thinks that this will help stimulate spiritual fervor among the Filipino Catholics. Allow Duterte to speak his mind for as long as he steers the country to progress. This is what matters most.--Jesus Sievert

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