There is no doubt that the issue of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill has resurrected like the proverbial Phoenix. This was an issue even before the Arroyo presidency and because Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has openly declared his support for a population control program for the country, this has encouraged Congress to revive this bill, which has now brought the Aquino administration on a collision course with the Catholic Church.
Now the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the clergy has issued a call to arms asking the laity to support the church stand on this issue. Come now, it’s as if many in the clergy did not know that during the election campaign, this question was not being asked of all the Presidential candidates and all of them gave their ideas on what they would do if they get elected. I recall that candidate Noynoy Aquino clearly declared his support for a population control program. Hence, P-Noy is only making good his election campaign promise, which is an admirable trait!
It is a fact that during the election campaign, many bishops, priests and nuns have openly declared their support for Noynoy Aquino because of his mother, the late Pres. Corazon “Tita Cory” Aquino. I dare say that while Tita Cory wasn’t the best President we ever had, however during her Presidency, she always supported the doctrines of the Catholic Church, hence P-Noy got the support of many bishops, priests and nuns.
If I didn’t support Noynoy for President, it is because of his open declaration that he was supporting a population control program that was diametrically against Catholic Church doctrine. It would have been easy for me to just look at the surveys and choose Noynoy; however it would mean compromising my Catholicism, which I wasn’t prepared to do. This is something that the CBCP ought to clearly look into because too many of those who profess that they are Catholics are in reality, nominal or “cafeteria” Catholics.
By this, I mean, they are Catholics only in name. But when it comes to Catholic doctrine, they probably believe in obeying half the Ten Commandments, while they won’t embrace the other half of the commandments that God handed down to Moses. These are the Catholics who say that the Ten Commandments are not really God’s commandments; they are merely ten suggestions for Catholics to follow. I dare say that it is time for Catholics to be counted. You either follow church doctrines or move to another church!
If many Catholics are ignorant (this includes Pres. P-Noy) of Church doctrines, the Clergy have only to blame themselves for not giving Catholics the basic foundation of its doctrines. I studied at the University of San Carlos (USC), a Catholic school, but I really didn’t learn about my faith from our religion classes. After all, faith is a gift given by God almighty himself. Thankfully, God called me to his service in 1998 and I responded to his call. Sadly, not everyone shares my enthusiasm about my Catholic faith.
While harsh words have been exchanged by the clergy and Pres. Noynoy, however I’m glad that the President has responded positively to calls for a dialogue with the leaders of the Catholic Church. I earnestly hope that this dialogue would not be in a form of debate, but rather it should be in the context of educating the President of certain teachings by the Catholic Church that his sainted mother Tita Cory adhered to.
One thing that P-Noy ought to know is that, all of us Catholics are considered the “Body of Christ” and I hope that our good friends, Dr. Jess Estanislao and Prof. Bernie Villegas who are the pillars of Opus Dei in the Philippines would be in that dialogue with the clergy because I’m sure that Pres. P-Noy doesn’t know what Divine Filiation is all about and he needs to learn that we are all sons of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence when the President goes against the Catholic Church, P-Noy is really going against himself and the church that his mother Tita Cory supported.
Another very important issue that the President ought to know about this issue, it is in reality a fight of the good versus evil. If innocent babies are aborted, through abortifacient drugs, we then become willing instruments in the murder of the innocents. Edmund Burke once quipped, “For evil to flourish, it is enough for good men to do nothing!” What P-Noy also doesn’t know is that, this issue is about spiritual warfare, something he ought to be taught.
Finally, let me point out that there really is no need for an RH bill because anyone can buy a condom and go against the teachings of the Catholic Church with impunity. So why should the RH bill be made into a law? Ahhh! Now you know that whatever Congress touches means money… foreign money called Millennium Development Fund, which is the root of all evils. Sure we believe in responsible parenthood, so let’s educate our people on this, but there’s no need for Congress to enact a law on the RH bill. –Bobit S. Avila (The Philippine Star)
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For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@mozcom.com or vsbobita@gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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