Sotto says Pope Francis was misquoted

Sen. Tito Sotto (screengrab from GMA News footage)

MANILA – Sen. Vicente Sotto III believes that Pope Francis’ statement regarding responsible parenthood was “taken out of context.”

He said that it’s strange for the Pope to say that “Catholics need not be like rabbits.”

“It’s out of character for him to say that. It can only be said by someone who disliked what the Pope said,” claimed Sotto.

He added, “I can believe that the Pope would talk about responsible parenthood but for the Pope to say we should stop breeding like rabbits, that’s an invention because that statement I heard already during the RH (reproductive health) debate.”

When he was told that there was a transcript of it, Sotto said that making a transcript is very easy.

“I will also make a transcript for you where that was not said. It’s easy to make a transcript,” Sotto pointed out.

Meanwhile, according to Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., both the government and Church only have a common goal and that is to have a strong family.

“The focus of our government, what was agreed upon, is to work together on the aspects that could help the majority of our fellowmen to allow us to establish strong families and in that way help improve society,” Coloma said.

He added, “The Holy Father said it is important to have a strong family and, of course, having a strong family is based on goodness and one’s knowledge. That is also the purpose of the government’s policy.”