CBCP: Pray for ‘very sick’ Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — For calling saints “stupid” and “drunkards,” President Duterte has been described as “very sick” by an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), who urged the faithful to pray for him.

CBCP vice president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David reminded the faithful of the teachings of Jesus to be merciful and pray for the sick. 

“Please remember, Jesus taught us to be merciful when dealing with sick people. I think it should be obvious to people by now that our country is being led by a very sick man. We pray for him,” David posted on Facebook on Friday.

David brushed off the latest rant of the President, who during the observance of All Saints’ Day questioned a Catholic practice of observing All Saints’ and All Souls’ days on Nov. 1 and 2, respectively.

“We don’t even know who those saints are. Who are those stupid saints? They’re just drunkards,” Duterte said. 

David said calling saints as “fools and drunkards” was not new to the Catholic Church as there had been instances when saints were called as such.

He said Jesus Christ himself was called a “glutton and a drunkard” and he was a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

Jesus’ cousin St. John the Baptist was called “devil-possessed.”

“To be a Christian is to be ready to be branded as a ‘fool for Christ’,” David said.