PALMA
CEBU CITY–President Rodrigo Duterte just can’t silence bishops and priests.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma on Thursday said Catholic Church leaders would continue to speak out and oppose the administration’s bloody war on drugs as well as plans to bring back the death penalty even if they continued to be lambasted by the country’s top executive.
“So what? We are not protecting our image. Our primary concern is to proclaim the truth and to help discern what is good for the people and the community,” he said in an interview after celebrating Mass to welcome the international centennial image of Our Lady of Fatima at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
“I’m sure it’s not just the President who will castigate the Church. There are other people who will speak ill about us. But in the end, we just can’t remain silent out of fear of being criticized. That is not the right way,” he added.
President Duterte has been relentless in his criticisms of Catholic Church leaders who have been vocal in condemning the extrajudicial killings that had attended the administration’s crackdown on the narcotics trade.
Palma clarified that bishops and priests fully support the President’s war on illegal drugs but abhor means to end human life.
Palma said Catholic Church leaders have always kept communication lines with the President opened to bridge the gap between the two institutions.