MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's speech at his proclamation event on Monday was met with a range of reactions, but his profanities, among which appeared to be against Pope Francis, evoked many Catholics' ire.
Months after the pope visited the Philippines, Duterte complained about heavy traffic the papal visit caused, saying he and his companions were stuck for hours on the streets of Manila before they reached their destination.
"From the hotel to the airport, alam mo inabot kami ng limang oras. Sabi ko bakit? Sabi pinasarado daw," Duterte, a presidential aspirant, said.
He then recalled being told that the roads were closed to give way to huge crowds wanting to see Pope Francis.
"Gusto kong tawagan, 'Pope p******, umuwi ka na," Duterte said, whose words made some supporters of political party PDP-Laban laugh.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said Tuesday that while corruption is a "great scourge" in Philippine politics and has to be condemned, vulgarity is also a form of corruption.
"Vulgarity is corruption. When we find vulgarity funny, we have really become beastly and barbaric as a people," Villegas said in a statement responding to Duterte's remarks.
He said Duterte's expletive directed at Pope Francis caused him "great shame."
"When a revered and loved and admired man like Pope Francis is cursed by a political candidate and the audience laugh, I can only bow my head and grieve in great shame. My countrymen has gone to the dregs," Villegas said.
On social media, meanwhile, Duterte trended third on Twitter in the Philippines with netizens abuzz following Monday's event proclaiming him and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as PDP-Laban's top candidates for the 2016 elections.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, a Liberal Party stalwart, expressed on his personal Twitter account that he took offense to Duterte's curseword against the pope.
Mayor Duterte, you can say all you want about politicians but you don't curse my Pope Francis! #defendthepope
— Edwin Lacierda (@dawende) November 30, 2015
Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, himself not a Catholic, said Duterte "owes Roman Catholics an apology."
"Even we who belong to other religions respect the religious leaders of other faiths. Toughness must not cross certain boundaries," Topacio said on his Twitter account.
1/2 If what I've read about what Mayor Duterte said about @Pontifex is true, I think he owes the Roman Catholics an apology. Even we who...
— Ferdinand Topacio (@FSTopacio) November 30, 2015
Others similarly criticized the tough-talking Davao City mayor, who also admitted he is a womanizer and has wanted to execute suspected criminals.
I've heard Duterte's speech and as a Catholic, I felt really insulted by his choice of words.
— K M T ? (@TompongKayMay) November 30, 2015 Deo Gratias! I saw in FB that all of my Catholic friends who are planning to vote for Duterte have changed their minds.
— Nicky Cojuangco (@NoOtherNicky) November 30, 2015 Can I stress how turned off I am of Duterte? Boasting about womanizing and killing criminals? Even cursing the Pope? NO WAY
— Debbie Fermin (@debbiefermin) November 30, 2015 I am offended by what Duterte said with regard to the Papal Visit. Can he just shut his mouth if he doesn't have anything good to say?
— Aimee. (@mikoooolet) November 30, 2015 Duterte is the "great unifier". He is unifying all political, religious and social persuasions to detest his values.
— JoeAm (@societyofhonor) November 30, 2015
Some netizens, however, took Duterte's side, saying his words were misunderstood. They also credited him for significantly lowering the crime rate in Davao City.
#Duterte did not curse the pope. He cursed the traffic system. It was a syntax problem. Lol. Know the context before the blabber.
— PIP™ (@PIPhimself) November 30, 2015 I would rather vote that guy than any candidate who kisses the Pope's ring and yet continue to steal from the nation's coffers. #DUTERTE
— Kurt Narciso ® (@ranconan29) November 30, 2015 Reading tweets hahaha we know our mayor duterte mahilig talaga sya mag mura but he has a good heart...don't vote for him if u dont like him.
— mauroal (@beh0401) November 30, 2015
Pope Francis's pastoral visit in Manila and some parts of the Visayas in January drew the largest crowd for a papal Mass in history.
President Benigno Aquino III, meanwhile, is scheduled to undertake a reciprocal visit at the Vatican this week to meet with the Roman Pontiff.