President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial remark where he called God “stupid” probably springs from his personal belief and his frustration with the Catholic Church, especially as he claims to have been abused by a priest, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday.

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In an interview with GMA-7’s Unang Hirit, Roque said, “Iyan po ay personal na paninindigan ng Pangulo. Alam ninyo iyong ating kalayaan ng malayang pananampalataya, kasama po iyan ‘yun sa wala kang paniniwalaan na pananampalataya.”

Roque said Duterte, an open critic of the Catholic Church, has his own spirituality. “Tingin ko ang ating Pangulo ay merong personal na spirituwalidad, pero nasa sa kanya na iyan at hindi na kinakailangang bigyan ng interprestasyon,” the president’s spokeperson said.

Roque also said the President’s frustration probably comes from his bad experience with a priest when he was a teenager.

“Pero tingin ko ang mga deklarasyon ni Pangulo ay nagmumula doon sa hindi magandang karanasan niya noong siya ay isang bata na diumano siya ay naabuso ng isang pari,” Roque said.

In his public speeches, Duterte has spoken about a priest who allegedly molested him and several other high school boys, when he was a teenager studying at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU).

“Ito ay isang isyu po na dapat talagang harapin din ng Simbahan at siguro po nagkataon lang na ang isang Presidente ngayon ang naging biktima. Pero ito po ay talagang hindi pupuwedeng kalimutan ng Simbahan; kinakailangan aminin, humingi ng tawad,” Roque said.

On Friday, Duterte ranted about God and called him stupid for the concept of “original sin.”

READ: Duterte on God, Catholics and Adam’s apple

“Who is this stupid God? You created something perfect and then you think of an event that would destroy the quality of your work. How can you rationalize that God? How can you believe him? So now we’re all born with an original sin. Even in the womb, we already have sin. What kind of religion is that?” Duterte said. /vvp

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