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Catholic Church may soften stand vs RH bill if...


MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Church hinted Thursday it may soften its stance on the Reproductive Health bill in the House of Representatives, if some of the controversial measure's "objectionable" provisions are yanked out. Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines public affairs unit chairman and Caloocan bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr said the Church finds some portions of the bill "agreeable." "May bagay that we agree, meron ding mga bagay na we disagree. Meron kaming concerns, values, implications na naroon at yan dapat hindi maging labag sa conviction na tinuturo ng simbahan (There are some provisions we agree with, and some provisions we disagree with. We have concerns about the implications of the bill and lawmakers must address these)," Iñiguez said in an interview on dzXL radio. While the Catholic Church and its allied groups have adopted a hard-line stance against the reproductive health bill, other religious groups have voiced support for it. Iñiguez said the Catholic Church is particularly wary of the bill's provision on sex education for children in schools, with government crafting the curriculum. "Ang sex formation isang importanteng elemento ng ating pagkatao ... Pero ang ating iniisip diyan ang sex ed should be part of value formation ng isang tao. Kung wala ang values na yan, ang sex magiging kasangkapan laang na maaring gamitin sa kung anu-ano (Sex formation is an important part of our being persons. But sex education should be part of value formation. Without the proper values, sex will just be viewed wrongly)," he said. "Sex education should be from the beginning but it should be with value," he added. Meanwhile, Catholic schools opposed to the controversial bill took their fight through half-page advertisements in Metro Manila newspapers. The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) stood behind the Catholic Church in signifying "strong objection" to the controversial bill. "We stand by the Church as she respectfully signified her strong objection to the contraceptive program the Bill promotes, considering the practices which it shall engender," it said in the ad, which was placed on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper. It also called the attention of lawmakers to the nature and effects of contraceptives. The CEAP likewise scored the contraceptive program for supposedly championing the cause of women, yet ignores instances where women's rights are violated. "We fault the Department of Health for paying mere lip service to natural family planning. Greater promotion of the more scientific and morally consistent option of the Natural Family Planning must be done," it added. "Both Sacred Scripture and Reason proposed that the best form of birth regulation is self-discipline," the CEAP said. Leading the signatories were president Msgr. Gerardo Santos, vice president Fr. Gregorio Bañaga Jr., treasurer Mother Assumpta David, and director Ulpiano Sarmiento II. - GMANews.TV
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