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‘Head-on collision’ between govt, Church seen on RH bill


Even as the Catholic Church prepares for a dialogue with government on reproductive health, a senior archbishop admitted Sunday it may be on a head-on collision with parties seeking the passage of the reproductive health bill. Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal made the assessment at the 17th Asia-Pacific Congress on Faith and Family in Makati City. “The issue not is not about claiming the power to dictate, but the protection of the values that hold our nation together and while the issues than and now may be different, the Church uses the same principles in its courses of action – what the Holy Father (Benedict XVI) calls as ‘the ethical foundation of civil discourse," he said in his speech, excerpts of which were posted Sunday afternoon on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site. “It is this specter of a society that has lost its moral bearings that keeps me from throwing in the towel even though I am now retired," he added. Vidal's claim came a day after CBCP president and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar said bishops will consult legal and medical experts in coming weeks to help them prepare for a dialogue with Malacañang on controversial issues that surround government efforts to shape a reproductive health (RH) policy. “Since our major line is on morality, we would be enlisting help from the lay people who would be with us representing their specific expertise," he said. Odchimar said the bishops will seek to tackle the demography, economics, legal and medical aspects of reproductive health. He said the CBCP’s preparations are still ongoing as no schedule for the dialogue has been finalized yet. “This is also a presentation that the majority of the church in the Philippines is composed of lay people… so that would be a concerted presentation of the position of the church not only by the CBCP, but in the totality," Odchimar added. Last month, President Benigno Aquino III sought a dialogue with Catholic bishops and other stakeholders on the government’s policy on reproductive health even as he assured the public that his pro-choice stance on family planning remained unchanged. Odchimar he said the Catholic Church would continue fighting for the protection of life. “For us it does not matter, whether we win or lose, we still have to preach the gospel (and) preach the position of the Catholic Church so that it might not be said that if the RH bill would pass, it is because the bishops did not do anything, that the bishops did not speak out," he said. Vidal contested claims by some sectors that the Catholic Church tries to impose itself on the rest of the citizenry. During EDSA I and II, he said that “when the issue was political, and the goal was toppling a dictator or a corrupt leader, the Church was hailed as a force for reform and liberation." Vidal added when the voice of the Church proved a useful instrument to attain the tipping point, “virtually everyone whose voice mattered praised the role of the Church." But now, he said the Church "is being portrayed as an intolerant power block bent on imposing its will on the nation, running roughshod over the will of most Filipinos." “Now that the issue is moral and much more proper to the Church’s concern, we are accused of using undue influence and interfering in politics," he added. On the other hand, he said some churchmen who criticize the Church for its vigorous opposition to the Bill on democratic principles “may have also missed the point." He said to reduce the debate into a purely religious issue is to imply that the objective moral principles that ground consensus are subjective opinions which will be open to further debates. In many cases when consensus is not attained, he said “the resulting action has always been one of license – to allow everybody to do what he or she wants as long as nobody gets hurt." Vidal said there is more to the RH Bill in its current form than mere democratic consensus or license. “If the RH Bill, in its present form passes into law, ironically, it will annul consensus" because it will impose itself on the consciences of individuals, he said. “It will penalize virtually anyone who speaks against it because it will mandate employers, even if against their will, to provide contraceptives to their employees," he added. He also said the bill will subject the country’s young to a brand of sex education that is foreign to Philippine culture and corrosive to values as it purports to reject abortion but classified abortifacients as essential medicines. Vidal reiterated his commitment to stand with human life advocates as they engage the larger society in dialogue as well as work together in “purifying" reason to recognize the objective moral principles essential to the proper functioning democracy. Meanwhile, a leader of a faction of the Couples for Christ organization urged Catholic families to defend and uphold the culture of life. Frank Padilla, head of the Couples for Christ—Foundation for Family and Life, stressed Catholics must work to renew the family as it is threatened from all sides by values contrary to Church`s teachings. Padilla, one of the speakers to 17th Asia–Pacific Congress on Faith Life and Family in Makati City, noted modern families are now being destroyed because of divorce, separation, living-in and valueless sex education, in vitro fertilization and same-sex marriage. He added many families are dysfunctional, some with one parent caring for the children while others may be two parents but of the same sex. Under such situations, he said children will grow up dysfunctional. “Pretty soon, they are shooting their classmates or committing suicides or just being a menace to society," he said. He urged Catholic families to work to defend and uphold the culture of life as it is “God’s wonderful gift that starts in the womb" and the enemy brings death through abortion, contraception, sterilization and through embryonic stem cells, euthanasia and assisted suicide and life’s degradation through corruption, poverty, environmental destruction. Padilla called on the participants to recognize the need to be informed and equipped and know the ways of the enemy and see clearly the need to develop one’s competencies and strategies. He said one of the weaknesses of the pro-life movement is the disunity and lack of collaboration. He encouraged the participants to be “continually renewed in spirit" because “we not only do good works but we develop a vibrancy of faith. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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