Bishops call for 3-day fasting after Duterte says God stupid

Agencies
July 9, 2018

Manila/Philippines, Jul 9: Philippine Catholic bishops on Monday called for fasting and prayers after President Rodrigo Duterte called God “stupid” and questioned God’s existence in profane remarks that set the foul-mouthed leader on a collision course with Asia’s largest Catholic church.

Archbishop Romulo Valles and the association of bishops that he heads called for a day of prayers on July 16 to invoke “God’s mercy and justice on those who have blasphemed 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.”

Starting July 17, the bishops asked Filipino Catholics to join bishops in three more days of prayers with fasting and almsgiving without giving other details.

Mr. Duterte has had a thorny relationship with Catholic bishops, who have criticized his bloody anti-drug crackdown and vulgar language and expressed alarm over the killings of three priests in brazen gun attacks in recent months. In televised speeches, the 73-year-old leader has often lashed out at Catholic bishops, recalling reports of sexual abuses by members of the clergy, including a foreign Jesuit priest, who, he said, fondled him and other fellow students in a Catholic university.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines did not name Mr. Duterte in a carefully worded but highly critical “pastoral exhortation,” but the allusion to the President and his tough anti-crime crackdowns, which have alarmed human rights groups, was clear.

To “those who arrogantly regard themselves as wise in their own estimation and the Christian faith as nonsense, those who blaspheme our God as stupid, Saint Paul’s words are to the point- ‘For the stupidity of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength,’” the bishops said, referring to one of the most important saints in the Catholic faith.

The statement was read in a news conference after more than 100 active and retired Filipino bishops and other church officials concluded three days of meetings in Manila that focused on Mr. Duterte’s recent tirades against the Catholic faith and the killings of three priests in brazen gun attacks in recent months.

Amid the animosity, Duterte’s office invited Archbishop Valles for a dialogue with the president, Bishop Valles said. Presidential aides later announced that the two met for 30 minutes at the presidential palace, with Mr. Duterte agreeing “to a moratorium on statements about the church.”

Mr. Duterte was slammed, including by some of his political allies, two weeks ago for calling God “stupid” in a speech, with one bishop calling him a “psychopath.”

Mr. Duterte lamented in that speech that Adam and Eve’s sin in Christian theology resulted in all the faithful falling from divine grace. “Who is this stupid God? This son of a bitch is then really stupid,” he said. On Friday, he said he would resign if even one witness can prove that God exists.

In response, the bishops cited Saint Paul’s teaching that “when we are persecuted, we bear it patiently; when slandered, we respond gently.” But they added that God’s “peace is never the peace of compromise or capitulation to evil.”

The bishops denied accusations that they were involved in moves to destabilize the government and said the church respects elected officials “as long as they do not contradict the basic spiritual and moral principles we hold dear, such as respect for the sacredness of life.”

Catholic church leaders played key roles in the Philippines’ 1986 “people power” revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos and in the massive protests in 2001 that forced President Joseph Estrada from power after being accused of corruption. Mr. Duterte, however, has remained popular based on surveys and has repeatedly vowed to step down if allegations of corruption against him and his family can be proven.

Comments

Advisor
 - 
Tuesday, 10 Jul 2018

Please open heartedly READ QURAN .... God challenges mankind to prove it wrong what is written in the QURAN which is untouched, unaltered since its revelation... QURAN also speaks about Pagans, who fall trap to worshiping man made gods, It clarifys the stand of JESUS and his coming in the end times, He is the messenger and prophet of God. it also explains on why People are heedless about God... To know more please READ the QURAN which will light your LIFE of this world. I suggest to check thequranproject which explains well for the beginners who want to know the TRUTH about LIFE and this UNIVERSE

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 30,2020

Beijing, June 30: China said on Tuesday it was concerned about India’s decision to ban Chinese mobile apps such as Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat and was making checks to verify the situation.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that (the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of) India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses.

India on Monday banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two countries this month.

The apps are “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defence of India, the security of state and public order", the ministry of information technology said in a statement, which came two weeks after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a violent clash on the India-China border in Ladakh.

The companies have been invited to offer clarifications before a government panel, which will decide whether the ban can be removed or will stay.

The move also came ahead of military and diplomatic talks between India and China scheduled this week.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 26,2020

Warangal, May 26: A 26-year-old man from Bihar was arrested here for murdering nine people by throwing them into a well to cover the murder of a woman, police said on Monday.

Dr Ravinder, Commissioner of Police (CP), Warangal, said that the bodies were recovered on May 21 and May 22 from the well. Investigation has revealed that the accused, Sanjay Kumar Yadav, killed all of them to cover up the murder of Rafiqa, with whom he had a relationship.

He said that Yadav got acquainted with a person named Maqsood and his sister-in-law Rafiqa. "Slowly, he came close to Rafiqa and started living together with her three children. Yadav tried to misbehave with Rafiqa's 15-year-old daughter. Rafiqa did not like this and threatened to lodge a complaint against him," Ravinder said.

"Then, Yadav planned to kill Rafiqa in order to live with her daughter. Yadav promised Rafiqa to marry. They boarded a train to West Bengal from March 7. Yadav mixed sleeping tablets in the food packet and later strangulated her, and threw her body outside the train," he said.

According to police, Yadav later came back to Warangal but Maqsood's wife Nisha started questioning him about the whereabouts of Rafiqa.

"Nisha threatened to lodge a police complaint against him. With a premeditated motive, from May 16 to May 20, he visited Maqsood's family who stayed in a gunny bag factory," he said.

Yadav purchased sleeping pills from Warangal and mixed in the food on the birthday of Maqsood's elder son on May 20, police said.

"Maqsood and his five family members were living there. Yadav mixed sleeping pills in the food and later they consumed it. Maqsood's family friend Shakeel was also there. Then, he went to the first floor of the factory where two labourers were staying. He mixed sleeping pills in their food too. He suspected that they may get up and create a problem. To cover up the murder of Rafiqa, he killed nine people," Ravinder said.

At around 12:30 am, Yadav woke up and saw that everyone is asleep, according to police.

"Then, he used the gunny bags to drag all the nine people into the well. He threw the gunny bag one by one into the well," Ravinder said.

According to the police, six teams were deployed to investigate the case.

"Yadav has been arrested now and will be taken to police custody. We will collect all evidence and ensure that he gets maximum punishment for this offence," Ravinder said.

 

Comments

abdullah
 - 
Thursday, 4 Jun 2020

Yadav will be released by court saying that he is mentally sick and he did not kill 10 people intentionally.  

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
coastaldigest.com News Network
April 25,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 25: Bajrang Dal's former Karantaka satate convenor Mahendra Kumar, who dedicated last decade of his life to expose the misdeeds and lies of Sangh Parivar, passed away today due to cardiac arrest here. He was 47 years old.

Kumar was undergoing treatment at Ramaiah hospital Bengaluru where he breathed his last today (April 25) morning. His final rites will be held in his hometown, sources said.

Kumar, who hailed from Koppa in Chikkamagaluru was a resident of Bengaluru.

He had reportedly involved in the 2008 attacks on Christians' places of worship in Mangaluru and Chikkamagaluru and had faced arrest for that. 

However, he quit Bajrang Dal same year and the apologized to Christians. He joined Janata Dal (Secular) in 2011.

After quitting Bajrang Dal and adopting left ideology, he openly attacked the ideology of right-wing outfits. 

He founded Jana Dhwani movement as a voice for the oppressed classes of the state. He used social media to attack the "manuvaad" for past one decade.

Comments

AA
 - 
Sunday, 26 Apr 2020

Rest in peace.....Sir

who will take over his job, who will fulfill his wishes to free this country from manuvad..?

Angry Indian
 - 
Saturday, 25 Apr 2020

GOD will turn the table for his good work at the last moment...we really lost good voice who is to support humanity...

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.