‘Who needs religion like that?’ Catholic Church will be gone in 25 years, Duterte says

In a fiery, profanity-ridden tirade, outspoken Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at the Roman Catholic Church, saying it will not survive long with all the controversies brewing around its clergy.

“This Catholic [Church] will disappear. In almost 25 years, it will disappear. No more, people will forget it,” Duterte said on Monday.

Speaking at a public event in the nation’s capital, Manila, the Philippines leader warned that the church will meet its demise as a result of the string of sexual abuse cases and corruption within its ranks. “People won’t forget the ways of Catholic clergy,” he said.

When they get horny, the sons of b****es, they go after nuns. If they’re gay, they go after young boys. Who needs a religion like that?

Duterte’s spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, later clarified his remarks, saying that the president was referring to “certain men in the cloth that have violated their own vows,” and was not attacking the institution as a whole.

“I think that’s a healthy criticism. It will help the Catholic Church cleanse itself and purge itself of those not deserving to be there,” he told reporters, adding that Duterte’s rant was his “opinion.”

More than 80 percent of Filipinos identify themselves as Roman Catholic, and the church remains influential in the country.

Catholic priests have angered President Duterte by speaking out against his controversial crackdown on drugs.

Duterte, who had alleged that he himself was abused by a priest as a teenager, has repeatedly blasted the church. He called the bishops “useless fools” and said the clergy is “full of s***.”

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