“Drawing strength from faith and devotion amidst fear and disquiet”
(Or: “thoughts after Duterte’s Immaculate Conception message”)
For sure everyone cannot forget how that leader said that God is stupid, that he chose to go to hell "so that the people will live in paradise", and a myriad of tirades against the church, all just to defend his bloodied venture.
But to think that with his message on this feast of the Immaculate Conception, just like this coming Christmas, or even Lent and Easter next year, all these together as expressing an appeal to unity using faith, then what an irony. For sure one would ask if is he's trying to curry favour with Christians especially those voted for him amidst his bloodied ventures and inactions, all after his earlier tirades accusing the clergy and the faithful for being against him in the name of "human dignity" and "human rights." "Let us all draw strength from the holy life and example of the Virgin Mary" as what he said, while some years ago he lambasted the Pope and the religious, while his supporters accused one clergyman after another of being a communist simply because of their really concerning statements and appeals.
Perhaps, no matter how it appears not to be political, that as Christians, any other other religious, would say that there's hope in resisting against the wishes of an oppressive order and a tyrant who leads in it. That everyone should "do their share one another, of valuing justice, peace, respect for human dignity, and human rights" even in this scenarios of disquiet and rage.