Duterte vows to uncover sexual abuse by priests in PHL

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday vowed to help uncover the sexual abuses by priests in the Philippines amid allegations of a Catholic Church cover-up on such crimes in the United States.

Speaking at the 49th charter day celebration of Mandaue City, Duterte said there was a "worldwide condemnation" of child sexual abuse by priests with Pope Francis now at the "center of turmoil."

"Everybody is trying to seek an opening for everyone to see. And I will be glad to do it here in the Philippines," Duterte said in a mix of Cebuano and English.

"Buksan mo lahat kay kasi may biktima rin eh," he added.

Duterte said that he and several other high school boys were sexually abused by an American priest when he was a teenager studying at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University.

Malacañang has since attributed Duterte’s tirades against the Church to the President’s experience of molestation.

The President railed against the sexual exploitation of children as he suggested that the Church "should be smart enough" to separate the "chaff from the grain."

"Huwag niyo papasukin ang mga taong ganyan," he said, referring to pedophiles.

"I have nothing against gay people. Wala akong galit sa mga bakla. Bakla rin ako noon. Bakla ako. Maghanap nga tayo ng maganda para makapagbalik loob [sa pagiging heterosexual]," Duterte quipped. 

Pope Francis has declined to comment on a claim that he ignored sexual abuse allegations against a senior clergyman.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to the United States, was quoted as saying that he had told Francis of the allegations against US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in 2013.

Vigano said Francis had lifted sanctions imposed on McCarick by Pope Benedict XVI. —NB, GMA News