Tag Archives: Pope Francis

PHILIPPINE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE IN WAR AGAINST CATHOLIC CHURCH

December 2, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Villegas, left and Duterte (Photo credit: Inquirer.net)

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – When Davao City Mayor and presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte cursed Pope Francis during a speech in Manila the other day, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) didn’t find it funny like many in the audience did. Instead, it issued a strong statement condemning Duterte.

“When a revered and loved and admired man like Pope Francis is cursed by a political candidate and the audience laugh, I can only bow my head and grieve in great shame. My countrymen have gone to the dregs,” said Bishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP president. He added: “Vulgarity is corruption. When we find vulgarity funny, we have really become beastly and barbaric as a people.”

Well, the CBCP statement didn’t sit well with Duterte either.

The mayor called out the Catholic Church for its child abuse scandals, claiming he, himself, was a victim of child abuse by priests during his days at Ateneo de Davao, a Catholic university in his hometown.

Duterte virtually waged war against the Philippine Catholic Church, saying that “I have secrets, they have secrets.”

But after attending mass at a local church, Duterte, a Catholic, called for a ceasefire. “If you leave me alone, I will leave you alone,” he said, while urging his colleagues in Philippine Congress to pass a new legislation that would mandate the separation of church and politicians.

The CBCP is yet to respond to Duterte’s call for al ceasefire.

Politics, Religion

PHILIPPINE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CURSES POPE FRANCIS, IS EXCOMMUNICATED

November 30, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – If you just have had it with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump with his antics and hate speech, take comfort in the fact that the Philippines has it worse in Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who is running in next year’s presidential elections.

The tough-talking mayor, known for his extra-judicial style of management, is finally showing his true colors, and more.

In a single speech, Duterte admitted being a womanizer, having two wives and two girl friends, while taking a stab at Pope Francis, whom he cursed while talking about Manila’s nightmarish traffic.

Duterte narrated his experience having to sit in traffic for five hours during the Pope’s visit to the Philippines earlier this year. Roads were closed to motorists and public transportation to make way for Francis’ motorcade.

Because we are a family-oriented site, we can’t print what Duterte said about the Pope, but we are including a video tape of his speech, courtesy of ABS-CBN News. If you don’t understand Tagalog, find someone who can for a translation.

Upon learning of the incident, Rome issued an excommunication order against Duterte who is Catholic just like three-quarters of the Filipino population.

It remains to be seen whether the popular presidential candidate will lose the Catholic vote come elections.

LGBT, Religion

POPE FRANCIS MET IN PRIVATE WITH GAY COUPLE, NOT WITH KIM DAVIS

October 2, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Capture — Same-sex partners Yayo Grassi, left, and Iwan Bagus, meeting with Pope Francis in Washington, D.C. (Screen capture/NYT)

THE VATICAN, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles®) – Pope Francis gave his blessing to Kim Davis during a brief meeting at The Vatican embassy in Washington, D.C. last week. But now, the Pope is taking back that blessing because Davis and her lawyers lied about the brief encounter.

Davis, the Rowan (KY) county clerk who spent jail time for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, was telling everybody that she had a “private audience” with Francis who thanked her for her “courage” and to “stay strong,” suggesting that the Pope had endorsed her defiance of civil law because of her religious belief.

While The Vatican confirmed the meeting between the Pope and Davis, it clarified that it was far from being a “private audience.” Davis was just among the many individuals that were hustled in and out to greet the Pope during his downtime at the embassy.

The Vatican said that the Pope didn’t even know who Davis was.

But a real “private audience” happened the day before Davis met the Pope.

It was a pre-arranged meeting with the Pope’s longtime friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years.

Yayo Grassi, an openly gay man, brought his partner, Iwan Bagus, as well several other friends to the Vatican Embassy on September 23 for a brief visit with the Pope. A video of the meeting shows Grassi and Francis greeting each other with a warm hug.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Grassi declined to disclose details about the short visit, but said it was arranged personally with the Pope via email in the weeks ahead of Francis’ highly anticipated visit to the United States.

“Three weeks before the trip, he called me on the phone and said he would love to give me a hug,” Grassi said.

So, while the Pope wasn’t endorsing same-sex relationships by meeting with his gay friend, neither was he endorsing Davis’ opposition to same-sex marriage just because of that brief, almost anonymous encounter.

Now, Davis has to go to confession to ask pardon for lying about her encounter with the Pope!