MANILA — An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s move to stop making remarks against the Catholic Church.
Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP-Public Affairs Committee, said the decision is good particularly to supporters of the Church.
“Refraining from verbally attacking the church is good especially for the faithful who were deeply hurt from such assaults,” Secillano said in a text message.
The Catholic priest also lauded the decision of CBCP president and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles in accepting the government’s invitation to meet with the President in Malacañang.
“Abp. Valles’ gesture of accepting the meeting with Pres. Duterte is admirable as it showed the church’s humility and deep concern for peace,” he added.
On Monday, the Davao archbishop met with Duterte shortly after the closing ceremony of the 117th Plenary Assembly of the CBCP in Manila.
The President agreed to stop his tirades against the Church after the meeting.