President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III had a pleasant meeting on the reproductive health (RH) issue with Catholic bishops who assured him there are no plans to excommunicate him. At a press briefing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino, Cabinet members, and four Catholic church leaders met at Bahay Pangarap at lunchtime on Monday lunchtime where they clarified some issues like the reported excommunication plan against the president. Aquino, a Catholic, clarified that while he supports responsible parenthood, he does not promote any method of birth control, Lacierda said. "It was a pleasant dialogue," Lacierda said. "It is going to be a start. Both sides realized it would be better for them to communicate directly to each other." The Cabinet members who were present at the initial meeting were:
Health Secretary Enrique Ona; Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, and Presidential Management Staff head Julia Abad, who will be the Church's point person in the government for future dialogues. The Church leaders who were present were: Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Tandag, Surigao del Sur bishop Nereo Odchimar; Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal; Imus, Cavite bishop Luis Antonio "Chito" Tagle, and Cagayan de Oro archbishop Antonio Ledesma. Odchimar will be the government's point person in the Catholic church. He and Abad will set future talks between the government and the Church, Lacierda said. The government and the Church recently clashed when the Church expressed its opposition to Aquino's stand on reproductive health. Aquino said couples would be in the "best position to determine what is best for their families" and the methods that they can use. He said the government may provide assistance once couples are properly informed of their choices. . The Catholic Church promotes only natural family planning and is vehemently opposing the use of artificial birth control methods such as condoms and birth-control pills, claiming these could lead to promiscuity and a rise in abortion cases. –VVP, GMANews.TV 
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