CBCP eyes meeting with Bernas over RH bill

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is considering meeting with Jesuit priest Joaquin Bernas after calling as "irresponsible" some priests who said that supporting the reproductive health (RH) bill is a "serious sin" or "merits excommunication." CBCP secretary general Msgr. Juanito Figura said the bishops will listen to Bernas' stand on the controversial measure. "He has some talking points that he would like to tackle and we might give attention to that," Figura said in an article posted Friday on the CBCP news site. Figura added that in the CBCP's last Permanent Council meeting, there were "little details" that were discussed and "there is a possibility to attending to that." He did not elaborate, however. Figura said Bernas as a priest is still “pro-life and he is towards the anti-RH bill side." “It is because he is a priest and as a lawyer, he might have an angle from the legal point of view that he would like to clarify," Figura said. Bernas' RH stand Bernas, in his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday, said "because of what I have said and written (where I have not joined the attack dogs against the RH Bill), I have been called a Judas by a high-ranking cleric, I am considered a heretic in a wealthy barangay where some members have urged that I should leave the Church." However, he explained: "I adhere to the teaching of the Church on artificial contraception even if I am aware that the teaching on the subject is not considered infallible doctrine by those who know more theology than I do." Bernas said neither the State nor the Church have the right to stop people from practicing responsible parenthood whichever way they prefer. But he also voiced dismay over some preachers telling parishioners that supporting the RH bill is a "serious sin" and may merit excommunication. "I am dismayed by preachers telling parishioners that support for the RH Bill ipso facto is a serious sin or merits excommunication! I find this to be irresponsible," he said in his column. He also said public money is "neither Catholic, nor Protestant, nor Muslim" and may be appropriated by Congress for the public good without violating the Constitution. He said he is happy that the CBCP has "disowned the self-destructive views of some clerics." - VVP, GMA News