Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has urged people to pray for each other amid the Covid-19 pandemic in a message to mark All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
In his Nov. 1 message, Duterte called on all Catholics to pray for those who have died of Covid-19 and those who sacrificed to save others.
The message came while Filipinos were prevented from visiting cemeteries from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 because of a ban on mass gatherings due to Covid-19.
All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day fall on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 respectively and usually see families flocking to cemeteries to honor their dead loved ones.
“I join all Filipino Catholics in the Philippines and around the world in commemorating All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day,” Duterte said.
“These century old-traditions of honoring those who have come before us and led virtuous lives, as well as remembering our dearly departed, are a strong pillar of our faith and identity as a people.”
Someone else likely wrote it for him. Do you believe the president himself wrote that message?
The president urged Filipinos “to follow” the lives of the saints in order to build a just and humane society.
“As we follow the example of the saints and pray for our loved ones who have passed on, let us also pray for each other, especially during this pandemic. We pray for those who have died because of Covid-19 and we also pray for those who have sacrificed life and limb to save more lives and keep us safe,” he added.
The message, however, did not go down well with one Catholic priest and staunch Duterte critic who said the message went against all the president stood for and was completely out of character.
Father Flavie Villanueva, who was once accused of sedition by the Duterte administration, even cast doubt over whether the president’s message was written by him personally.
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“Someone else likely wrote it for him. Do you believe the president himself wrote that message?” he said.
The message did not mirror his “kill, kill, kill” policy in his drug war campaign, the priest said.
He also expressed surprise that the president honored Catholic feasts after having often attacked church officials and doctrine in the past.
“All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are feasts of the Catholic Church, the same church Duterte has reviled and persecuted,” Father Villanueva told UCA News.
They were killed without mercy, without due process, without going to trial
Duterte made headlines by calling God “stupid” in a 2018 speech in which he criticized the creation story in the Bible.
“Who is this stupid God? You created something perfect and then you think of an event that would tempt and destroy the quality of your work,” Duterte told an information communication technology summit in Davao.
Father Villanueva challenged Duterte to include in his prayers the souls of the thousands of his drug war victims.
“They were killed without mercy, without due process, without going to trial,” Father Villanueva added.
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