Duterte cancels plan to personally apologize to Pope

Davao City – Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday he had cancelled plans to visit the Vatican to personally apologize for calling the Pope a “son of a whore.” “No more. That’s enough,” Duterte told reporters when asked about the planned trip, pointing out he had already sent a letter of apology. He said the trip “could be an exercise in duplicity.” Duterte, 71, the long-time mayor of southern Davao city, won the May 9 election in a landslide following an incendiary campaign in which he gleefully used foul language to disrespect authority figures. In a rambling speech to announce his presidential run, Duterte lashed out at Pope Francis for causing traffic jams in Manila when he visited the mainly Catholic nation last year. “It took us five hours to get from the hotel to the airport. I asked who was coming. They said it was the Pope. I wanted [...]