Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reversed a campaign pledge and now said he will not support same-sex marriage — all in the name of Catholicism.
Duterte made the statement during a speech in Myanmar while mentioning a Time magazine cover focused on gender identity.
Referencing the countries where the magazine is circulated, Duterte said: "That is their culture. That's for them. That can't apply to us, because we are Catholics and there is the Civil Code, which says that you can only marry a woman for men ... a woman to marry a man."
Duterte said he has "nothing against gays" and in 2015, even said same-sex marriage is "good." But he's still imposed policies that treat LGBTQ people unequally. Coincidentally, that's something he has in common with the Catholic-in-chief.
Pope Francis also rejects the idea of same-sex marriage but has said Christians owe apologies to gays and that the Catholic Church should accept and embrace the LGBTQ community.
In October, the pontiff said, "Sin is sin, but tendencies or hormonal imbalances ... can cause many problems and we have to be careful."
It all sort of goes back to this "hate the sin, not the sinner" philosophy — the kind of stance that authoritarian rulers like Duterte can use to deny people certain rights.
