President Duterte has said he “created his own god” after being sexually abused by an American priest while at university.
The president said after the “terrible” incident in school, he created his own god who values justice and fairness.
“Something terrible happened when we were young. It’s not really that serious. But fondling while confessing, we were being fondled so when I graduated, I was no longer a Catholic. I was not even in politics then,” Duterte said during the inauguration of Malayan Colleges Mindanao in Davao City yesterday (Saturday, July 7).
“But I created my own God. After graduation, I created my own God based on the values I have seen like justice] — what is justice, fairness — I have always said in Davao, ‘My God is my service to the people’. Period,” he added.
Abused by priest at university
The president has previously revealed that the late Father Mark Falvey molested him and other high school students while he was a student at Ateneo de Davao University. The incident allegedly happened during the ‘sacrament of penance’ or confession.
In his remarks yesterday, the president clarified that he has a “deep and abiding faith in God” despite his recent tirades against Catholic doctrines such as the concept of original sin.
He also said his concept of God was based on not only his values but also “the lessons I learned in life, the hard ways” and “your capacity to seek someone who has — somewhere a universal mind”.
“I do not think of my God as a God that is applicable ditto. Otherwise there would be no widespread injustice: hunger, killings, and all,” he said.
As we have also reported today, the president said he was ready to resign if anyone could prove the existence of the God of the Catholic Church with a selfie.
“If there is somebody of the so many billions, maybe if he can go there in heaven, talk to God, and magpa-selfie sila, at bumalik siya dito, at sabihin ng pari ‘There is God’, I will step down tomorrow. No question,” he said.
The president has recently sparked anger from Church leaders and other groups after calling God a “stupid son-of-a-bitch”. He has also questioned the biblical teachings on creation, particularly why God allowed Adam and Eve to fall from grace.
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