Duterte says God stupid; Bishops call for 3-day fasting

Philippine Catholic bishops have called for fasting and prayers after the president called God "stupid" and questioned God's existence in profane remarks that set the foul-mouthed leader on a collision course with Asia's largest Catholic church.

Archbishop Romulo Valles, who heads the country's association of bishops, called for a day of prayers on July 16 to invoke "God's mercy and justice on those who have blasphemed God's holy name, those who slander and bear false witness and those who commit murder or justify murder as a means for fighting criminality."

Valles asked Filipino Catholics to join bishops in three more days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving starting on July 17.

Rodrigo Duterte has had a thorny relationship with Catholic bishops, who have criticized his bloody anti-drug crackdown and vulgar language.