Women's group seeks RH bill dialogue with CBCP

A women's group supporting the passage of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill is seeking a dialogue with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which is against the bill. The CBCP said it received a letter from Gabriela seeking to discuss the details of the measure but the CBCP said it is still "studying" the matter. "We are still studying the situation if there is a favorable atmosphere for a dialogue and the other difficulty is that it’s hard to gather (our) panel," CBCP secretary general Msgr. Juanito Figura said in an article posted on the CBCP news site. Figura said the CBCP received an invitation for a dialogue from Gabriela last week “to present their side and also get our side." He said Gabriela wanted the dialogue to be held last June 3 but at the time, the bishops have yet to decide on the matter. On May 18, the CBCP affirmed it will not be holding anymore talks with the government over the RH bill. The Church continues to lobby against the passage of the RH bill because it opposes the bill's provisions allowing artificial contraception. The Church accepts only natural methods of family planning. - VVP, GMA News