Philippine president-elect blasts Catholic church, bishops
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MANILA- The presumptive Philippine president-elect has blasted the country's dominant Roman Catholic church as "the most hypocritical institution" and accused some of its bishops of corruption for allegedly asking favors from politicians, including him.
In a late-night news conference that dragged on to the early hours of Sunday in southern Davao city, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte questioned the relevance of Catholic bishops, citing his overwhelming victory in the May 9 presidential election based on an unofficial count despite efforts by them to persuade Filipinos not to vote for him.
Such harsh public condemnation of the influential church and its bishops by a top politician is rare in the Philippines, Asia's bastion of Catholicism. It presages a potentially thorny relationship between the Catholic church and the incoming president, who shocked bishops in November when he cursed Pope Francis for sparking a huge traffic jam that trapped him for hours during a visit to Manila.
