A founder of the Capitol Bible Baptist Church hurled insults at Pope Francis starting on January 15 on his Facebook timeline. Paster Felizardo Abanto called the Pope “people’s popoo” and accused the him of bringing bad luck or “kamalasan”.
A review of the pastor’s Facebook Timeline revealed that such insults were true and that he justified his insults with some Bible verses. His posts were followed by comments from his followers encouraging him for his actions.
He even said that “even the storm is angry” (“PATI BAGYO GALIT”) referring to tropical storm Amang that hit the eastern part of the country during the Pope’s visit.
Pastor Felizardo Abanto’s insulting posts against Pope Francis.
Comments from other Baptist denominations asked Pastor Abanto to respect other beliefs. His reply was “Am I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”
Pastor Abanto’s reply to fellow Baptists asking him to respect other beliefs.
Pastor Abanto is not alone in hurling insults at Pope Francis. Marlene Aguilar, sister of singer Freddie Aguilar, called the pontiff “evil” while Film Director Ejay BigBear ranted on how the Pope’s visit messed up schedules and caused traffic.
Ironically, Pope Francis said in an earlier interview when asked about the Charlie Hebdo massacre, “You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.”
This was an indirect defense of Islam which was made the focus of some “offensive” cartoons published by the satirical magazine. Charlie Hebdo cartoonists and other staff, including police officers, were massacred by alleged Islamic extremists who claimed to avenge Mohammad from the insults published by the magazine.