Duterte accuses clergy member of stealing Church donations

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday accused a member of the clergy of stealing donations from parishioners to feed his family in yet another criticism of the supposed hypocrisy of priests who take wives despite swearing to an oath of celibacy.

Duterte, in a speech in Tanza, Cavite, mentioned a certain "David" while recounting his misgivings on the teachings of the Catholic Church including the concept of heaven and hell and the "sins of bishops here."

"Ikaw, David, tumahimik ka ha. Sige ka lang hingi ng contribution diyan sa mga… Saan ang pera ng mga tao? Ang g*** sige lang hingi, may second collection pa," the President said.

"Alam mo totoo lang, sabihin ko sa inyo, iyong mga offerings, iyong mga pinya, mga avocado, saging, saan napupunta ‘yan? Gusto ninyong malaman? Gusto ninyo ng video? Ibigay ko sa inyo. Doon sa pamilya niya," he added.

Duterte then suggested that clergymen should be allowed to get married.

"Kaya stop this practice of… Dapat makapag-asawa na kayo at humabol kayo sa akin. Naka dalawang asawa ako pati apat na girlfriend. That is why I am suffering now," he said.

Duterte had earlier created a four-man panel that would dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious groups following his scathing remarks about God, creation story in the Bible, and the concept of original sin.

On July 9, Duterte met with his friend and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles.  During the dialogue, he agreed to stop his rhetoric against the Church and its leaders, who have been critical of his deadly war of drugs.

That promise, however, has yet to be fulfilled. — BAP, GMA News