{"id":188228,"date":"2018-11-04T02:18:10","date_gmt":"2018-11-04T07:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=188228"},"modified":"2018-11-04T02:18:10","modified_gmt":"2018-11-04T07:18:10","slug":"prrds-saints-day-jest-not-meant-offend-catholics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/11\/04\/prrds-saints-day-jest-not-meant-offend-catholics\/","title":{"rendered":"PRRD’s All Saints’ Day jest, not meant to offend Catholics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in his speech during the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Luzon Island Cluster Conference at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City on October 22, 2018, reiterates his stern warning to the public officials to avoid getting involved in any illegal activities. RENE LUMAWAG\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 President Rodrigo R. Duterte\u2019s remarks questioning the Catholics’ commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls\u2019 Day were said in jest and not meant to offend religion, Malaca\u00f1ang said Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President’s remarks, as described by news articles, were said in jest,\u201d Presidential Spokesperson and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said in a press statement.<\/p>\n

After last Thursday\u2019s situation briefing on Typhoon Rosita in Isabela province, Duterte greeted the crowd \u201cHappy All Saints\u2019 Day\u201d but jokingly questioned the observance of the Catholic tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo happy All Saints\u2019…Bakit naman\u2026 Sabagay itong t****** talaga itong mga Katolikong p***. Bakit naman may All Souls\u2019 Day tapos may All Saints\u2019 Day? Hindi nga natin alam kung sino ‘yang mga santo na \u2018yon. Sino \u2018yung mga g*** na ‘yon? Mga lasenggo<\/em>\u00a0(These f****** Catholics, why do they observe All Souls\u2019 Day then there is also All Saints\u2019 Day? We don\u2019t even know who those saints are. Who are those stupid? drunkards?),\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDito na lang kayo. I’ll give you one pat — ah isang patron na ano para hindi na kayo mag-pasyal. Get hold of a picture of mine. ‘Yan ang ilagay niyo sa altar \u2014 Santo Rodrigo.<\/em>\u00a0(You stay with me. I\u2019ll give you one patron so you don\u2019t have to go around. Get hold of a picture of mine. Put it on the altar \u2014 Saint Rodrigo)\u201d he added, drawing laughter from the crowd.<\/p>\n

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma reportedly criticized Duterte\u2019s remarks, saying the President is \u201cnot a theologian nor has even studied catechesis or theology\u201d to interpret Catholic doctrines.<\/p>\n

Panelo said even reporters covering the event knew that Duterte was “only making light of a serious situation”.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that they burst into laughter (as shown by the video clips of the TV news) showed that they were not offended by what the good Bishop and a few critics perceived to be an offensive religious statement against the celebration of All Saints\u2019 Day and All Souls\u2019 Day,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHence, PRRD\u2019s remarks should not be viewed beyond the description of the reporters covering the event. A joke is a joke and the same does not require an explanation. Nor should it be given as a religious slight,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Panelo said Duterte had even visited his parents\u2019 tombs in Davao City last Thursday night coming straight from the Isabela situation briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cActions should be given more weight than the spoken words when one ascertains the true attributes of a person for certainly actions speak louder than words,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately prior to ending the said briefing, the President made the parting words, \u2018We all have our obligations to the dead. It\u2019s practically part of the culture but more than that, it\u2019s something that is very important for us to commune with our ancestors\u2019,’\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said the strength and credibility of a religious faith \u201ccannot be affected by what some deem as an assault by non-believers nor will its faithful be offended by any playful jab on its saints\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristianity, or any major religion that preceded it, will always survive the test of time,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2014 President Rodrigo R. Duterte\u2019s remarks questioning the Catholics’ commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls\u2019 Day were said …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":187806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-jelly-musico","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}