CBCP may elect Mindanaon prexy

President Rodrigo Duterte’s strained relationship with the Catholic Church may improve should the next leader of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) be a Mindanaoan just like Mr. Duterte.

This was the opinion of some bishops as they are set to meet this weekend in Manila for their three-day plenary assembly and elect a new CBCP president.

For Ozamiz Archbishop Martin Jumoad, having a Mindanaoan bishop lead the CBCP may help establish a good relationship with President Duterte, who hails from Davao.

“Psychologically, yes. Having a CBCP president from Mindanao may help in establishing [a] good relationship with the President,” the prelate said.

Jumoad was quick to add: “But I believe that as bishops, we articulate only what our Catholic faith says.”

The CBCP and the Church in general has a strained relationship with the President, who often targets clergymen in his tirades by accusing them of corruption and sexual abuses.