CBCP to Vatican: On RH issue, laypeople defend the Catholic faith

Philippine bishops, leaders of the world's third largest Catholic Church, told the Vatican that Filipino laypeople have been defending the faith on crucial issues such as reproductive health. Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar mentioned this in an interview with Vatican Radio in Rome last week. Nearly 100 Catholic bishops are visiting Rome in three batches from November 25 this year to March 5 next year, for their "ad limina visit." The "quinquennial visit ad limina apostolorum" or simply "ad limina visit" refers to the obligation of diocesan bishops to visit every five years the tombs of the Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul. The bishops also have to meet the Pope and report on the state of their dioceses or prelatures. According to the news site Zenit, Odchimar spoke with Vatican Radio about the priority issues that Catholic bishops are facing in the Philippines. With an estimated 73 million Catholics, the Philippines has the world's third largest Catholic Church, after Brazil and Mexico. Zenit reported that Odchimar spoke about Filipino laypeople defending the Catholic faith which is being attacked in the media, especially on the reproductive health (RH) issue. Odchimar mentioned doctors "who explain the limits of the arguments in favor of the law on reproductive health from a scientific and juridical point of view, who defend the position of the Church in favor of life." "In our parishes we are promoting programs that support the family and we have lay organizers committed to educating ordinary people on natural methods of birth control," the bishop added. Odchimar said "there are people who, especially through the media, support the promotion of artificial birth control. Our episcopal conference is committed to making known the position of the Catholic Church." He said Philippine bishops give special attention to the family "to protect it from the danger of fragmentation, which occurs given intense emigration and attacks coming from phenomena such as abortion, divorce and consumerist models of life." Ecumenism Aside from the RH issue, the Catholic Church faces challenges from non-Catholics who come to the Philippines to "proselytize" or convert to their faith, Odchimar said. He said the CBCP has established a commission for ecumenism to dialogue with non-Catholic Christians. "We work together," he said, "especially on social issues as, for example, agrarian reform." First batch of bishops The first batch of bishops, which includes Archbishops Gaudencio Rosales (Manila) and Ricardo Vidal (Cebu), are in Rome from November 25 to December 6. It will be the bishops’ first “ad limina" visit to Pope Benedict XVI. The Philippine bishops’ last “ad limina" took place in 2003, the CBCP said. A practice since the 1500s The ad limina visit has been an official practice of Catholic bishops since the 1500s. In 1585, Pope Sixtus V issued the "Constitution Romanus Pontifex," which specified the norm for the ad limina visits. On December 31, 1909, in a "Decree for the Consistorial Congregation," Pope Pius X stated that a bishop needs to report to the pope on the state of his diocese once every five years, starting in 1911. Three batches of bishops The bishops who will go to Rome have been divided into three groups: (1) Prelates from 30 pastoral jurisdictions in Metro Manila and Central and Northern Luzon; scheduled to stay at the Vatican from November 25 to December 6 this year; (2) Bishops from the 28 dioceses in Southern Luzon, Visayas and the Military Ordinariate; will visit the Vatican from February 7 to 19, 2011. (3) Bishops from Mindanao including the Archbishop of Lipa; February 21 to March 5, 2011. RH bill 96 Several versions of the RH bill have been filed in previous congresses in the Philippines. In the present Congress, the RH bill is known as "Bill 96" whose main proponent is Minority Leader Edcel Lagman of Albay. The RH is based on the premise that the country's population growth impedes economic development and exacerbates poverty. The bill seeks to “guarantee to universal access to medically-safe, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices, supplies and relevant information." The bill also seeks a “consistent and coherent national population policy," citing studies that show that "rapid population growth exacerbates poverty while poverty spawns rapid population growth." Catholic Church's "champ" vs artificial contraception Meanwhile, Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel “Manny" Pacquiao has become the Catholic bishops' new champion against artificial contraception. Pacquiao received praise from retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz for remaining firm on his stand against artificial contraception. On November 22, Pacquiao issued a statement sayign he is for natural family planning, particularly abstinence. In that interview, Pacquiao urged couples to control their sexual urges because condoms and abortions are sinful. Aside from the recent victory over Margarito, Pacquiao had won the World Boxing Council (WBC) Flyweight Champion in 1998-1999; International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Bantamweight Champion in 2001-2004; RING Featherweight Champion in 2003-2005; WBC and RING Super Featherweight Champion in 2008; and WBC Lightweight Champion, 2008-2009. He is also the current champion of the International Boxing Organization (IBO) and RING Junior Welterweight Champion as well as in the World Boxing Organization, and reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight Champion. – VVP, GMANews.TV