From the blog of Fr. Abet Uy comes the following position paper, published by the Diocese of Talibon earlier this month:
Position Paper of the Diocese of Talibon Concerning the RH Bill (English Version)
We honor God. We respect human life. We value our family. We love our children. These are the main reasons why we, the People of God in the Diocese of Talibon, strongly oppose the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill.
We believe that the RH Bill is not in consonance with the will of God. The sacrament of marriage, authored by God, has two inseparable meanings, namely: the unitive – which serves the good of spouses; and the procreative – which serves the good of the human race. These noble purposes of marriage are being undermined by the RH Bill when it promotes artificial contraception, an act which holds couples from giving themselves fully to each other and which aims to close the possibility of conceiving a new human life.
We believe that the RH Bill lacks respect for life. Human life is most sacred because it is made in the image and likeness of God. We need to protect and care for it from the moment of conception up to its natural death. The RH Bill claims to be for reproductive health. However, by promoting artificial contraception, it can be dangerous not only to the health, but even to the life, of unborn babies. It can also be harmful to the physical and spiritual well-being of men and women.
We believe that the RH Bill does not truly care for the family. The family is called the “Domestic Church” because it is here that the love of God and neighbor can be taught and put into practice. By encouraging artificial contraception, the RH Bill puts the family in a precarious situation. Studies have shown that countries which promote artificial contraception consequently have higher incidence of adultery, divorce, premarital sex, teenage pregnancy and abortion.
We believe that the RH Bill has little love for children. Children are gifts from God. We treasure them because they give meaning to our Christian lives and inspire parents to work hard. The RH Bill considers children as hindrance to development. It presumes that the Philippines would be better off if there are fewer mouths to feed and fewer children to educate and to care for. It turns a blind eye on the fact that children can be our great assets or treasure.
Instead of supporting the RH Bill, we humbly ask our countrymen, our leaders and lawmakers to:
1) Promote and practice Natural Family Planning (NFP). NFP is part of God's wise design for human sexuality. It is free, highly effective and has no side effects. Importantly, it encourages mutual respect, shared responsibility, self-discipline and self-control, which are essential values for a permanent and happy marriage.
2) Defend the right to life of the unborn child. The baby inside the womb is the most powerless of all God's children. We need to secure its well-being by putting a strict ban on abortifacient contraceptives and a better enforcement of the law against abortion.
3) Use government resources for poverty alleviation, not for contraception. Most of the coffers of the government come from the hard-earned money of its people, majority of which are Catholics. It is therefore proper to use such funds for life-giving projects that benefit the people, not those things which offend or harm them.
4) Continue the hard fight against corruption, which is the main cause of our people's poverty and misery. Bring thieves to jail and oblige them to return stolen money to the government.
And so, we join the genuine voice of the Filipino nation as we say, “No to the RH Bill, Yes to God's will.”
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