MANILA — An official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Permanent Committee on Public Affairs (CBCP-PCPA) on Friday welcomed the statement from Malacañang that it is open to dialogue with the Catholic Church executives on discuss certain issues.
Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP-PCPA, however, noted it would be up to the head of the CBCP if he would like to sit down and talk with President Rodrigo R. Duterte, or not.
“But it is up to the leadership of the CBCP to accept it or not,” he said in an interview on Friday.
The Catholic priest said that in case the Catholic prelates accepted to the dialogue, there should be an agenda to be able to discuss issues concerning both parties.
“If they accept it, there should be clear talking points otherwise, it’s going to be just a mere exchange of pleasantries that won’t result to anything good for the country,” he said.
On Friday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said that the President is open to talk to the members of the clergy, despite his verbal tirades against the Catholic Church.
He noted that the “secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines is from Davao also.”
CBCP president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles was elected to the post in July 2017. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
