Presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
After coming under fire for cursing Pope Francis during his proclamation rally in Manila last year, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he had been forgiven by the Vatican through a letter he recently received from the Catholic Church hierarchy.
Duterte, whose ratings dipped after the incident, has since recovered and has placed second in recent presidential polls.
The mayor, visiting the convent of the Sto. Niño Parish in Ubay, Bohol, with his running mate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, said he had asked for forgiveness from the Pope and he “received a positive response.’’
Duterte and Cayetano had just met with parish priest Fr. Gilbert Nagosa when he told reporters about the letter from the Vatican.
“I wrote them to express my regret for using the Lord’s name in vain,’’ Duterte said.
When pressed by reporters if he thought he was forgiven by the Pope, Duterte answered with a high-pitched “yes.’’
But Duterte declined to show a copy of the letter to the media because he did not want to be accused of again “using the name of the Lord in vain.’’
He said he decided to write to the Vatican for his own peace of mind and not for political reasons.
Duterte earlier said he had planned to go to the Vatican to kiss the hand of the Pope and personally ask for forgiveness, but decided not to push through with it, fearing it might be misconstrued as a political act.
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