Pope Francis has sent a letter to presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, assuring him of prayers months after he cursed the pontiff during his proclamation speech last November. Philstar.com/File Photo
MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis has sent a letter to presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, assuring him of prayers months after he cursed the pontiff during his proclamation speech last November.
“The Holy Father offers the assurance of his prayers for you, as he invokes upon you the divine blessings of wisdom and peace,” Angelo Becciu, a representative of Pope Francis, said in the letter addressed to Duterte.
The letter was written Feb. 24, 2016 and stated it was “from the Vatican.”
Duterte’s executive assistant Bong Go said that they received the letter last week through Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles.
Go said that Duterte sent a letter to Pope Francis last Jan. 21 to “sincerely apologize” for his remarks cursing the pontiff for the traffic jam that stranded the mayor’s car during the papal visit in January 2015.
Duterte explained in his letter that he was affected by the daily plight of the Filipino people that prompted him to utter the remarks against Pope Francis, Go said. In response, Becciu said that the pope “appreciates the sentiments which you expressed.”
Becciu’s letter was reportedly coursed through the papal nuncio in Manila before it was sent to the Archbishop’s Palace in Davao
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