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Fetus dumped in trash heap in QC found with rosary


A day after a Catholic archbishop warned of excommunication for those engaging in abortion, another fetus was found abandoned near a trash heap in Quezon City. Ironically, even though abortion is a no-no for Catholics, it seems that the mother of the abandoned fetus is a Catholic as a rosary was found inside the box where the fetus was placed. On Sunday, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales voiced alarm over the abandonment of fetuses in Metro Manila, some near churches. In a pastoral letter read in churches in the Manila Archdiocese, Rosales said the fetuses indicated abortion remains rampant and is a sign of a “grave moral decadence" that threatens the country. Rosary and P5 coin Radio dzBB's Paulo Santos reported child scavengers found the fetus inside a box thrown into a trash heap along San Mateo Road, Batasan Hills, Quezon City at around 1:00 a.m. on Monday. Village officials who rushed to the site described the fetus as male, about five to six months old. Aside from the rosary, a P5 coin was found inside the box where the fetus was placed, the officials said. The police are now trying to track down the mother who abandoned the fetus. Excommunication Rosales said a deliberately procured abortion is a moral evil and the Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication on those who procure and helped obtain it. “Abortion is a grave sin against a defenseless life; and for this the severe canonical penalty to perpetuator/s is excommunication," he said. He added unwanted pregnancies could be avoided if only people are “less selfish, and more disciplined and capable of self control, exercising a strong will, and capable of making sacrifices." “These are virtues that are much needed in a country of disciplined people," he said. “The placing and exhibiting of aborted human fetuses in public places are not favored in other cultures, and decent people refuse to do the same," he added. Fetuses left in churches On Tuesday last week, a five- to seven-month-old fetus, wrapped in a green plastic bag, was found inside the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila at around 5:00 p.m. An hour later, devotees were shocked when another fetus was found at the doorstep of the Church of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. Authorities said the fetus described as about seven to nine months old, was in a red shoe box when found by a churchgoer. The following day, a 7-month old fetus, wrapped in plastic and then stuffed into a sack, was found in Catmon district in Malabon City. Church partly to blame? However, a representative of the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network indicated that the Catholic Church hierarchy, which has strongly opposed the reproductive health (RH) bill in the Philippine congress, is partly to blame for the problem. "The root cause [of abortions] is that these women were not prepared for pregnancy and giving birth," said Beth Angsioco. "The best way to really address the problem is to prevent unwanted and unplanned pregnancies." She added that "the RH Bill will help women, especially poor women, to plan their families and time pregnancies , pregnancies that they want and are well prepared for." –VVP, GMANews.TV

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