Alminaza: Other religious denominations face similar problems

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Diocese of San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza yesterday said people should not take President Rodrigo Duterte’s tirades against the Catholic Church seriously.

He said they are already getting used to Duterte’s criticisms and the president’s spokesperson already affirmed several times that his comments were jokes.

However, the bishop also noted, he does not agree with Duterte’s behavior and believes the president is not setting a good example, especially for the youth.

“If the president would ask me, I would not encourage him to continue doing that,” Alminaza said.

While he acknowledged there are problems within the church and some of its leaders, the bishop pointed out other religious denominations are also encountering similar problems.

“Even with those [Duterte] is claiming [in] the book ‘The Altar of Secrets,’ we have long been asking for forgiveness,” Alminaza explained. “We do not deny it but there are some things that are not exactly correct.”

The diocese official also noted, the church does not agree with the president’s policies pertaining to extrajudicial killings but is cooperating in combating illegal drugs, pointing out how the diocese has assisted the city in providing community-based drug rehabilitation programs.

He also complimented the Duterte administration for reducing processing time on government documents and taking immediate actions on complaints through the Citizen’s Complaint Hotline.

Alminaza believes the comments have not impacting the Roman Catholic faithful, using the Feast of the Black Nazarene as an example, claiming, “The number of Catholics in the country is still increasing.”

Since taking office in 2016, Duterte has accused bishops of corruption and living luxurious lifestyles. He also vowed to continue his criticisms until the church “corrects itself.”/DGB, WDJ