BBM to cooperate, work closely with Catholic Church

President-elect Bongbong Marcos looks forward to “working closely” with the Catholic Church and the Vatican as the incoming head of the Philippine state.,In a statement on Tuesday, Marcos assured that the Philippine government, under his leadership, will work jointly with the largest Christian institution during his six-year presidential term.,“As a people of strong faith, we are hopeful that we will further our cooperation and work closely with them in the next six years,” Marcos said.,He made the statement after having a private meeting with Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles John Brown at his headquarters in Mandaluyong City on 10 June.,[Related story: Catholic Church ready to work, cooperate with Marcos administration],Marcos described their meeting as “encouraging” but did not disclose the topics that they have discussed.,“I had an encouraging talk with Ambassador Charles Brown of Holy See last Friday,” he recalled.,A day earlier, Brown said Marcos committed to “collaborate and cooperate closely with the church and Holy See” during their meeting.,The Holy See is the “universal government” of the Catholic Church and operates in the independent territory of Vatican City.,Like Marcos, Brown regarded the meeting as “encouraging” and disclosed that they had a “very productive and positive discussion”.,Brown paid a courtesy call to the incoming Chief Executive on Monday along with other envoys William Carlos of Ireland,  Alain Gaschen of the Swiss Confederation, Sweden’s Annika Thunborg, and United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in the Philippines Gustavo Gonzalez.,Last month, Caritas Philippines—Catholic Church’s social action arm—gave its word that it will “foster a principled collaboration” with the incoming Marcos administration.,The national Caritas expressed support for his future programs as long as they will “honor the rule of law and history” and “make government more accountable to its people”.,It also stated that it will vigilantly watch Marcos and all elected officials fulfill all their election promises.,During the campaign period, however, Marcos’s camp slammed some members of the Catholic clergy for their alleged “hateful and negative campaigning” and asked them to remain nonpartisan.,His camp made the remark after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) warned the Filipino nation against the disinformation materials circulating on social media that originated from troll farms.,CBCP president Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David condemned what he deemed as “radical distortions” in the history of the Marcos regime’s Martial Law and the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.