One of my latest entries in this blog deals with excommunication and its possibility to be imposed upon the president. The DAILY INQUIRER carries today a story about the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), a collegial body, reminding the president on the prospect of his excommunication.
If the status quo remains unchanged - and it looks like that; I foresee Pres. Aquino and those who call themselves "Catholic" (especially public figures) promoting or espousing abortifacient family planning to be excommunicated.
We understand the willingness of Malacañang to have a dialogue with the bishops on artificial family planning as indicated by the president but so far it’s a wishful thinking. It's apparent that each party firmly holds their ground and therefore any dialogue is just a waste of time.
CBCP President and Tandag, Surigao del Sur Bishop Nereo Odchimar and I agree that population is not the issue vis-à-vis poverty. The bishop was just civil in not mentioning government inefficiency, mismanagement and apathy as the radical causes of Philippine poverty.
Asked on the possibility that Pres. Aquino is excommunicated if he insists that the government distributes contraceptives, Odchimar said that there is a "possibility". That is automatically translated into “yes” the moment the government starts doling out condoms.
The involvement of the Catholic Church on moral issues such as artificial birth reminds us the role of the abusive friars played during Spanish times. The Church does not condone their un-Christian acts. We are living in a different epoch. Contrary to angry comments alleging that we are going back to those sad years when clerics ruled over our lives and we blindly followed them out of fear of damnation; that is not the case. No one is obliged to believe what the clergy and the Church are saying or teaching. From the times of Jesus, not all that He taught believed in Him and He did not force them to believe in Him. Warning from the clergy saying that one goes to hell if s/he does not follow Church teaching is up to the individual to take that seriously or not. What should be taken seriously is the fact that priests went to school for eight years to study Philosophy and Theology and bishops for some more years for their doctorate degrees. If university professors are credible as authority in their fields, there is no valid reason for the clergy not to be trusted as well when they speak on moral and faith related issues.
The Philippines is known as a deeply Christian nation aside from having a corrupt government (which the president is trying to clean up). If we are a committed Christian, it is not enough to take the face value of the words and teachings of the bishops or even the Church. It is wise to ask “Why are they saying that and how did they come to that point?”. We keep an open mind and ask for enlightenment from the well-informed instead of relying on our hunch and guts. Selectiveness in following Church teachings that only satisfy our whims and caprices indicates infidelity or lukewarmness.
The issue of sexual abuse on the part of the clergy as brought out by some pro-contraceptives factions has nothing to do with the contraceptive issue. Such unguided argument is rife in getting even with the Church whose hierarchy has consistently condemned such abuses. What’s at stake is the immorality of human hands playing God on the procreation of life and not the sins the clergy commits. Only God has the power to decide if and when a new life is created or not.
"If the Church is persistent in saying that contraceptives are wrong and immoral," condom advocates argue, "time will come when they realize that such teaching (artificial contraception ban) is wrong." If they mean past errors of the Church such as the trial of Galileo Galilei for his heliocentric theory, that has nothing to do with a moral issue. It is purely in the realm of science
If protests hit the streets, not only anti-contraception factions are going but anti-Aquino and disgruntled groups as well. The Aquino administration is very young. Hopefully, issues will be resolved for the sake of the country and for the people long suffering from different hardships.
We wish Pres. Noynoy Aquino to give his equal due to "Caesar" and God respectively. At this point it is very evident that he is only focused to Caesar!-30-
We wish Pres. Noynoy Aquino to give his equal due to "Caesar" and God respectively. At this point it is very evident that he is only focused to Caesar!-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment