President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday took a “vow of silence” on issues concerning God and the Church following a one-on-one meeting with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines President Archbishop Romulo Valles, the Palace said Monday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President agreed to a moratorium on his criticisms against the acts and beliefs of the Church during a private meeting with the archbishop in Malacañang Monday afternoon.
“We have read the July 9 pastoral exhortation of the CBCP and take note of the concerns of our bishops, which the Duterte administration is currently addressing,” said Roque, as Catholic leaders urged the faithful to join them next week in three days of prayer and fasting for those who blaspheme God.
In its pastoral letter after President Duterte called God stupid, the CBCP also urged the faithful to be peacemakers amid “troubled times.”
“Let us spend a day of prayer and penance invoking God’s mercy and justice on those who those blaspheme God’s holy name, those who slander and bear false witness, and those who commit murder or justify murder as a means for fighting criminality in our country,” the letter, signed by Valles, said.
“To those who blaspheme God as stupid, St. Paul’s words are to the point,” he said. “And I quote, ‘for the stupidity of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.’”
But Roque said the pastoral letter also mentioned peace as the common vocation and mission of the Church, calling on the people to remain steadfast amidst violence in our communities.
“Like our brothers and sisters in the Church, the President’s program of governance is also to actively work for lasting peace by waging a war against illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption. This war is our fight for the safety of all Filipino families and for their right to live in a peaceful society,” said Roque.
Asked whether the President had read the CBCP’s pastoral letter, Roque thought it was “tame” and that he was expecting worse from the bishops.
“There was no outright condemnation, so I thought the Church was avoiding an outright confrontation with this pastoral letter,” Roque said, expressing hope for a better relationship between the administration and the Church.
The CBCP said Monday the Church respects the political authority of democratically elected government officials as long as they do not contradict CBCP’s basic spiritual and moral principles.
Valles said in his pastoral letter that government officials must also respect the Christian values that CBCP upholds such as the sacredness of life, the integrity of creation, and the inherent dignity of the human person.
“We are not political leaders, and certainly not political opponents of the government. The Church has, throughout the history, coexisted with other forms of government,” said Valles, adding that the Church has always harmonized well with local government units and even barangays in pursuing the common good and addressing the needs of the most disadvantaged sectors of society.
“Sometimes we qualify the collaboration as ‘critical,’ mainly to distinguish our differences in terms of ultimate goals, even as we partner in some shared endeavors,” he said.
However, Valles recognized that such collaboration on some specific issues might not be possible due to spiritual and moral beliefs which the CBCP persistently proposes but never imposes on the unwilling.
“In such instances, we can only invoke our right to conscientious objection. We do recognize the constitutional provision of the separation of Church and the State, mainly in the sense of distinction of roles in society,” said Valles.
“When we speak out on certain issues, it is always from the perspective of faith and morals, especially the principles of social justice, never with any political or ideological agenda in mind.”
Valles also denied the Church is involved in a political movement to undermine the administration.
“There are those who accuse us of getting involved in political moves to destabilize the government. Nothing can be farthest from the truth. Our concern is never the establishment of any earthly kingdoms. Worldly kingdoms come and go. We work only for God’s kingdom which is beyond this world so that we can start learning to live life on earth as it is in heaven,” said Valles.
Last week, Malacañang claimed some Catholic Church leaders might be conniving with the communist rebels to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, a member of the CBCP-Commission on Social Communications and Mass Media, asked Roque to identify the Church officials who he thought were linked to the communists and said failure to reveal the names would only mean that Malacañang cultivated fake news.
Roque, on the other hand, denied the Church’s allegation it was spreading fake news and stood firm on his claim, adding that history has always shown a possibility of a conspiracy led by communists and religious people.
Roque said Monday former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Sunday hosted a dinner for 18 bishops ahead of the private meeting between Duterte and Valles.
Roque, who attended the gathering at Arroyo’s residence, said Mrs. Arroyo hosted the dinner “to emphasize the need for close relationship between the Church and State.”
“It was a social dinner although there were prayers said and there was, of course, a general consensus that the Church and State should work together in upholding the general welfare of the people,” Roque said.
Valles was not at the dinner, Roque said.