Bishop thankful for USAID’s exit from contraception program

San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto on Tuesday said he was thankful that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has decided to stop giving free contraceptives to the Philippines. “Praise the Lord! ... Because by promoting contraception you do not eliminate poverty by weakening and killing the poor," Aniceto, who chairs the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said in a statement on the CBCP Web site, Tuesday night. Aniceto said the use of contraceptives “is immoral," and a part of a massive depopulation agenda of some political leaders. He said contraception won’t solve the country’s economic woes unless the government comes out with “real serious economic management and proper economic planning of our country." The USAID said it had already stopped giving free condoms since 2004. The agency plans to cut the rest of its donation of other birth control products next year. USAID said its phaseout is in line with the government’s promotion of natural family planning. Earlier, the CBCP denounced a plan at the House of Representatives to purchase P1 billion worth condoms, pills and other “reproductive health products" to control population growth. The Church called on legislators to instead spend the huge amount on projects that would alleviate poverty and provide free education to poor children. - GMANews.TV