President Rodrigo Duterte did not feel alluded to by the remarks of Pope Francis who said people who denounce the Catholic Church are friends with the devil, Malacañang said Thursday.
In a speech during a conference he convened to guide senior bishops on how to address the widespread abuse staining the Church’s integrity, the Bishop of Rome stressed the need to face the moment of truth and denounce the defects of the Church. But he linked to the devil those who condemn without love.
“One cannot live a whole life accusing, accusing, accusing the church,” the Pope said. Those who constantly do, he said, are “the friends, cousins, and relatives of the devil.”
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said he does not think that Duterte, who frequently criticizes the Catholic Church and its teachings, is among those who were alluded to by the Pope as the devil’s friend.
“One of the better critics of the Church is the Pope himself. He criticizes the members of the Church who are engaged in what he perceives to be immorality, which is outside the teachings of Christ or the internal discipline of the Church,” Panelo told reporters.
“If I will agree with that, then the Pope will be referring to himself also because he is a critic.”
Duterte has often viewed the Catholic Church as the “most hypocritical institution” for criticizing his war on drugs despite the involvement of some members of the clergy in sexual-abuse cases.