Philippine Catholics rally against war-on-drug killings and death penalty
Thousands of Filipino Catholics marched through Manila on February 18 in what was the biggest gathering expressing protest against extra-judicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and a government plan to reimpose the death penalty for criminals.
Dubbed a “Walk for Life” prayer rally and endorsed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the gathering started past 4:00 am, the most common time when extrajudicial killings happen.
“We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. It also increases the number of killers,” CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement. He and other Catholic officials, however, said that the protest is not against President Rodrigo Duterte’s policies but an expression of their opposition against the societal problems threatening the sanctity of life.
The Church officials said they are going to be more active, though, and denied that the protest is a violation of the separation of church and state.
Organisers claimed that up to 50,000 people took part in the march toward Manila’s Rizal Park, while about 10,000 based on police estimates stayed to hear speeches. More than 7,600 people have been killed since Duterte launched his anti-drugs campaign seven months ago
A presidential spokesman did not immediately react to the rally. The President’s stance is well known, anyhow. Duterte makes it no secret that he strongly opposes the influence of the Catholic Church in this and other matters in the Philippines. He called the institution “full of shit” and “most hypocritical” in a recent speech on January 24, accusing them of corruption, womanising and child abuse.
Thousands of Filipino Catholics marched through Manila on February 18 in what was the biggest gathering expressing protest against extra-judicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs and a government plan to reimpose the death penalty for criminals. Dubbed a “Walk for Life” prayer rally and endorsed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the gathering started past 4:00 am, the most common time when extrajudicial killings happen. “We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. It also increases the number of killers,” CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement. He...
Thousands of Filipino Catholics marched through Manila on February 18 in what was the biggest gathering expressing protest against extra-judicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and a government plan to reimpose the death penalty for criminals.
Dubbed a “Walk for Life” prayer rally and endorsed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the gathering started past 4:00 am, the most common time when extrajudicial killings happen.
“We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. It also increases the number of killers,” CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement. He and other Catholic officials, however, said that the protest is not against President Rodrigo Duterte’s policies but an expression of their opposition against the societal problems threatening the sanctity of life.
The Church officials said they are going to be more active, though, and denied that the protest is a violation of the separation of church and state.
Organisers claimed that up to 50,000 people took part in the march toward Manila’s Rizal Park, while about 10,000 based on police estimates stayed to hear speeches. More than 7,600 people have been killed since Duterte launched his anti-drugs campaign seven months ago
A presidential spokesman did not immediately react to the rally. The President’s stance is well known, anyhow. Duterte makes it no secret that he strongly opposes the influence of the Catholic Church in this and other matters in the Philippines. He called the institution “full of shit” and “most hypocritical” in a recent speech on January 24, accusing them of corruption, womanising and child abuse.
