Duterte willing to be crucified if accusations vs priests proven wrong

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte promised on Thursday, January 10, that he would let himself nailed to a cross for about "30 minutes" this Holy Week in April if a book containing the supposed sins of Catholic priests is found erroneous.

Duterte made the vow in a speech delivered in Bulakan, Bulacan, as he took yet another fresh tirade against the Catholic Church.

Duterte, who believes in God but not in religion, said he wanted to be nailed to a cross in Bulacan, if the book titled "Altar of Secrets" contains false information about the wrongdoings of the clergy.

"Altar of Secrets: Sex, Politics, and Money in the Philippine Catholic Church, kung masagot nila ito at sabihin nila na may isang bagay dito na mali, abangan niyo ang Holy Week (if they prove that it's erroneous, wait for the Holy Week)," he said.

"Dito ako magpa-lansang sa krus sa Bulacan. Oo. Totoo. Pero huwag naman matagal. Siguro 30 minutos na naka-[pako]. Kaya ko man yan. Walang yabang (I will let myself nailed to a cross in Bulacan. It's for real. I'll do it for about 30 minutes. I can do it without arrogance)," he added.

Every year, some devout Catholics show their faith every Easter by having themselves nailed to crosses every Good Friday. This year, Good Friday falls on April 19.

Altar of Secrets, a book written by the late journalist Aries Rulfo, contained reports about the sex and corruption scandals involving members of the clergy.

In his latest speech, the President challenged the Catholic Church leaders to tell the "truth" and refute the allegations hurled against them.

"You better... Pagka sinabi mo na ganito, you should walk your talk. Pero kung puro hypocrisy lang ang lalabas ninyo, gaya dito, may dormitoryo kayo sa mga anak ninyo sa labas, and idedeposito niyo sa orphanage, kunwari. Pero anak ninyo yan," Duterte said.

(You better... If you said anything, you should walk your talk. But all you do is hypocrisy because you have dormitories for your illegitimate child but you're pretending like you got them from the orphanage. But the truth is they're your illegitimate child.)

"As a matter of principle, sige gawin ko (I'll really do it). But you correct this. Tell us the truth because we had no choice," he added.

On Wednesday, January 9, Duterte called on bystanders to "hold up" and "kill" moneyed bishops, whom he branded as "inutile." (SunStar Philippines)

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