Bishop: Pray the rosary to enlighten lawmakers on RH bill

A bishop is urging Catholics to pray the rosary to enlighten lawmakers about the reproductive health (RH) bill. “I-alay natin ang pagdarasal ng rosary sa mga Kongresista, Senador at kay Pangulong Aquino na maliwanagan ang kanilang pag-iisip at pahalagahan ang buhay," Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said in an article posted on the CBCP website. Catholic bishops this week announced that they are backing out of the talks with the government on the RH issue. In a press conference on Monday, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Secretary General Msgr. Juanito Figura said there was no longer any reason to conduct the dialogues. The CBCP and the Aquino administration are on opposite sides on the RH issue: while President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, a Catholic, expresses his support for the RH and responsible parenthood (RP) bills, Catholic bishops oppose both bills because these promote artificial contraception along with natural family planning methods. The Catholic Church accepts only natural family planning methods and opposes the use of pills, condoms, intrauterine devices, and other contraceptives. According to a report of radio dzMM, the CBCP stated its withdrawal from talks on the RH bill after Aquino announced the implementation of the five-point agenda on responsible parenthood. Still, CBCP recognizes good points of the bill such as building hospitals and pushing for the welfare of women and children, the dzMM report said. Based on the CBCP pastoral letter "Choosing life, rejecting the RH bill" issued earlier this year, Catholic bishops said they object to the following: "1. We object to the non-consideration of moral principles, the bedrock of law, in legislative discussions of bills that are intended for the good of individuals and for the common good. 2. We are against the anti-life, anti-natal and contraceptive mentality that is reflected in media and in some proposed legislative bills. 3. We object strongly to efforts at railroading the passage of the RH bill. 4. We denounce the over-all trajectory of the RH bill towards population control. 5. We denounce the use of public funds for contraceptives and sterilization. 6. We condemn compulsory sex education that would effectively let parents abdicate their primary role of educating their own children, especially in an area of life – sexuality – which is a sacred gift of God." The CBCP has been leading protest actions against the RH bill and have declared May 9 as a "National Day of Prayer" against the controversial bill. - VVP, GMA News