--- description: Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines' outspoken new President-elect, says he will visit the Vatican to personally apologize to Pope Francis title: Duterte Is Sorry for Calling the Pope a 'Son of a Whore' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ceede39ad5e0878/69889309e20a87dab6a90d18/rtx2dfg7.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Rodrigo Duterte Wants to Apologize to Pope Francis for Calling Him a 'Son of a Whore' by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 13, 2016 4:14 AM CUT  Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte talks to the media before casting his vote for national elections at Daniel Aguinaldo National High School in Davao City, in southern Philippines, on May 9, 2016 Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte talks to the media before casting his vote for national elections at Daniel Aguinaldo National High School in Davao City, in southern Philippines, on May 9, 2016Erik de Castro—Reuters by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 13, 2016 4:14 AM CUT Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines’ outspoken President-elect, says he will visit the Vatican to personally apologize to Pope Francis, whom he described as a “son of a whore” after the Pope’s visit to Manila created traffic jams. Duterte’s spokesperson confirmed the plans to reporters from [several](http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/philippines-duterte-to-visit-pope-apologise-for-whore-insult-aide "undefined") [regional](http://globalnation.inquirer.net/139403/philippines-duterte-to-visit-pope-apologize-for-whore-insult-aide "undefined") [media](http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/565980/news/nation/duterte-eyeing-visit-to-vatican-because-of-pope-joke-spokesman-says "undefined") [outlets](http://atimes.com/2016/05/philippines-duterte-plans-to-visit-pope-apologize/ "undefined"). “The mayor repeatedly said he wants to visit the Vatican, win or lose, not only to pay homage to the Pope but he really needs to explain to the Pope and ask for forgiveness,” the spokesperson, Peter Lavina, told media. Duterte easily won the election in the profoundly Catholic country earlier this week, owing in large part to his legacy as the tough-on-crime mayor of Davao City, but his campaign received more attention for his controversial commentary. Lavina justified his candidate’s remarks — which touched on everything from the Pope to victims of gang rape — by pointing to their populist appeal. “You have to understand the Philippine style of elections,” Lavina said, according to the Singapore-based _Business Times_. (Duterte previously made a joke about burning the Singaporean flag_._) “The context is most of our politicians need to communicate to our audience … Some make jokes, some make funny faces. Some dress outrageously.” “So it is all in this context that all these jokes, bantering, happen during the campaign. We don’t expect the same attitude of our officials thereafter.” Duterte has already apologized to Pope Francis in a letter; the Vatican responded by offering the “assurance of prayers” during his campaign. The President-elect’s spokesman said that no date had been set for the trip, though it was a “top priority.” Rodrigo Duterte Sorry for Calling Pope 'Son of a Whore' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4328906/rodrigo-duterte-pope-francis-philippine-president-son-whore/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4328906/rodrigo-duterte-pope-francis-philippine-president-son-whore/"},"headline":"Rodrigo Duterte Wants to Apologize to Pope Francis for Calling Him a 'Son of a Whore'","datePublished":"2016-05-13T04:14:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:31:20.165Z","description":"\"All these jokes, bantering, happen during the campaign,\" an aide said","url":"https://time.com/4328906/rodrigo-duterte-pope-francis-philippine-president-son-whore/","keywords":["Pope Francis topic","Philippines","Vatican","Rodrigo Duterte"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ceede39ad5e0878/69889309e20a87dab6a90d18/rtx2dfg7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ceede39ad5e0878/69889309e20a87dab6a90d18/rtx2dfg7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Presidential candidate Rodrigo \"Digong\" Duterte talks to the media before casting his vote at a polling precinct for national elections at Daniel Aguinaldo National High School in Davao","caption":"Presidential candidate Rodrigo \"Digong\" Duterte talks to the media before casting his vote at a polling precinct for national elections at Daniel Aguinaldo National High School in Davao","creditText":"Erik de Castro—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4328906/rodrigo-duterte-pope-francis-philippine-president-son-whore/","name":"Rodrigo Duterte Wants to Apologize to Pope Francis for Calling Him a 'Son of a Whore'"}}]}] ```