Speech

Philippine President Benigno Simeon (BS) Aquino’s speech to welcome Pope Francis was outrageously inappropriate. It was so wrong. Some of us didn’t see it coming. It was shocking to hear him talk about himself and complain about how some of the members of the Church in the country are being mean to him. Who would have thought the President would use what was supposed to be a solemn occasion to badmouth his political enemies once again in the presence of the leader of the Catholic Church?

But quite frankly, we should have known BS Aquino would not miss an opportunity to blame the country’s previous administrators as well as his critics in his speeches. Putting others down is something he does in an effort to lift his own image up to those gullible enough to believe him. Sometimes some of us still get surprised at his insensitivity though.

BS Aquino accused the members of the Church of turning a blind eye to the transgressions during former President Gloria Arroyo’s term:

He described as “a true test of faith when many members of the Church, once advocates for the poor, the marginalized, and the helpless, suddenly became silent in the face of the previous administration’s abuses, which we are still trying to rectify to this very day,” in obvious reference to his predecessor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is under hospital on plunder and graft charges.

“In contrast to their previous silence, some members of the clergy now seem to think that the way to be true to the faith means finding something to criticize, even to the extent that one prelate admonished me to do something about my hair, as if it were a mortal sin. Is it any wonder then, that they see the glass not as half-full, or half-empty, but almost totally empty. Judgment is rendered without an appreciation of the facts.”

First of all, was BS Aquino advocating for the Church to meddle in state affairs in his speech? It seems he was blaming the members of the Catholic Church for the...