Rody: I believe in one God

MANILA, Philippines - There are saints – 5,000 to choose from – and there are sinners,and he only believes in one God. Period.

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte yesterday took another stab at the practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which has been critical of his stance on family planning and the death penalty.

Duterte took particular note of the Catholic practice of venerating saints, people officially recognized by the Church as models of the faith.

“I believe in one God, Allah. Period,” he said during his last flag ceremony as Davao City mayor. Allah is the name of the God worshipped by Muslims.

Duterte’s discomfort with Catholicism, it seems, stemmed from his unpleasant experiences when he was a child.

He recalled that when he was a child, his mother Soledad would punish him by asking him to kneel before an altar.

“I told Jesus, help me. He said I can’t help a naughty boy,” he said in jest.

Duterte said in the Catholic faith, there are about 5,000 saints to choose from.

“You choose your saint: San Tiago, Santo Isabelo, Santo Roman, Santilmo, Santo Rodrigo,” the next president said, drawing laughs from the audience.

“St. Peter himself loves cockfighting,” he said, referring to the apostle whose symbol in art is the rooster.

According to the Christian Bible, a rooster crowed after Peter thrice disowned Jesus Christ.

Roman Catholicism is a monotheistic religion, which means that it worships only one God.

Duterte said he has been at odds with the Catholic Church because of its opposition to artificial family planning methods.

He noted that in Davao City, pills, ligation and other birth control methods are accessible to couples.

“I go against the Church because its position is not realistic,” the tough-talking leader said.

Duterte has called the Catholic Church “the most hypocritical institution” for its supposed failure to practice what it teaches.

He claimed that bishops continue to teach morality but have failed to address sexual abuses by the clergy.

Last December, Duterte revealed that a Jesuit priest molested him when he was in high school but he was too afraid to file a complaint.

Duterte, however, went beyond Catholic doctrine and questioned the relevance of scripture itself.

“Those were written 3,000 years ago. Ano ba pakialam natin sa kanilang sinulat (who cares about what they wrote)?” he said.