CBCP Statement against "Catholics for RH Bill"

IT came to our knowledge that a group the calls itself “Catholics for Reproductive Health bill” or C4RH has been publicly claiming to be a Catholic association or group whose published mission is “to bring Catholics into full harmony with their faith and realize that there is no dissonance with their being Catholic and simultaneously believing in the advocacy and goals of reproductive health and rights.”

We wish to make it clear that the Church does not recognize this group to be an authentic Catholic association or group since it espouses and supports a stand contrary to the magisterial teachings of the Church. The uncompromising stand of the Church to uphold the dignity of the person and to protect and respect the life from conception to natural death has always been the constant teaching of the Church. Public espousal of measures that directly undermine these non-negotiable principles of the Catholic faith is a sharp wedge that cuts the unity of the Church.

Let it be clarified that the Church does not recognize the “Catholics for Reproductive Health” as a genuine Catholic association or organization in accordance with Canon Law. Any Catholic who freely identifies himself or herself with this group gravely errs.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,

+NEREO P. ODCHIMAR, DD

Bishop of Tandag

President, CBCP

May 17, 2011

From the bishops, this Easter Sunday

From the Easter Message of Msgr. Nereo Odchimar, Bishop of Tandag and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines:

...The glorious event of resurrection has once and for all crippled the fortress of darkness. This incorruptible remembrance of God putting an end to the definitiveness of death is a strong message of hope—that in all of this, every work of evil shivers before the power of goodness. 

This good news must first and foremost be preached to “the regions beyond us (2 Cor. 10:16).” St. Paul had these encouraging words: “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things (Rom. 10:15)!” It is equally unjust of us not to proclaim the triumphant joy of Easter to those who are seeking for light and life. To those whose hearts are hardened by pride and humanly motivated principles, let none of us yield to an idle surrender. Let the gospel be preached untiringly. 

What awaits us ahead of this earthly life is life in immeasurable abundance. Hence, it is unlikely of us to fear as we preach the truths of our faith. We are now the victorious children of resurrection and we despise every form of attack against the dignity and welfare of humankind. With renewed vigor, let us become builders of social transformation. Let us work for peace that lasts and justice that enhances human condition. Let us not be selfish as to deprive others of their right to live. Let us not be too clever as to deceive others to our own advantage. Let there be Easter in our midst by our presence that loves and cares.

From the Easter Message of Msgr. Socrates Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan:

The victory of Easter is the victory of the Greatest Lover of all who died that we may have fullness of life. We who are an Easter people must pour love into our bleeding world, bind the wounds of our society and bring it back to life—through love. 

If indeed we are people ready to love, we must make our Easter Sunday an occasion to bring an end to cold indifference—walang pakialam! Love cares. Love gets involved. Love reaches out. 

The risen Lord pricks us to get involved in politics and make it a liberating not a corrupting kind of politics. The risen Lord urges us to bring Christian ethics to economics and put charity not profit as its overriding principle. The risen Lord sends us on a mission back to Galilee to restore all things to him. Easter people: spread the values of Christ! 

If love has indeed fully possessed us, then we must break out of our protective shells of our insensitivity and heartlessness—walang pakiramdam. Love takes responsibility. Love is rich in mercy. Love is kind. We cannot continue with Easter and continue to ignore the poor. It is not hard to meet the poor if we are not playing blind to their presence. We cannot claim to be an Easter people and yet not do anything about the silent moans of aborted babies. We cannot sing Alleluia and remain insensitive to rising criminality, the commercialization of sex and the unabated availability of shabu in the neighborhood. Easter people: act now! 

If we are truly an Easter people and love is our rule of life, we must destroy callousness and audacity—walang hiya. Contraception is corruption of love and life. It is not a solution. It will only open more problems for the soul of our nation. Sin is abnormal. Obedience to the Ten Commandments is normal. Let us not extol impurity and ridicule virtue. Polluting the minds of children by teaching them sex without God cries to heaven for divine justice. Easter people: stand up for life! 

Love is a verb not a noun. Easter is a mission not just an event. We can only share in the glory of this greatest of all days by making love reign supreme. 

Goodbye indifference and apathy.

Goodbye insensitivity and heartlessness.

Goodbye callousness and audacity. 

Let us live in love, for love and with love. Let us love. Easter is a feast of love and only those who love will see the glory of the Risen Christ!

The Philippine Bishops on Population and Poverty

This statement is more than a month old by now, but has scarcely been disseminated in religious circles, let alone among the lay faithful in general. CAP

A Press Statement on Population and Poverty

AFTER almost 38 years of population control from the massive machinery of the bureaucracy, the unfortunate plight of poor families and their difficulties in providing for their basic needs continues to hound the country. Even as the Church and private initiatives of its laity attempt to narrow the gap between “the haves” and “the have nots,” many Filipinos continue to suffer. The government has been claiming that this continuing poverty is caused by our robust population growth. The Church cannot accept this postulate, proceeding as it does from a flawed view of the human person as merely “a mouth to feed”. Everyone knows how our young and educated population has provided the primary force behind the robust performance of the Philippine economy. This makes us the envy of more developed countries that have contracepted and aborted themselves into the demographic winter.

It is his rational nature that makes every person capable of work, of aspiration to improve his lot. He uses this gift to transform his aspirations into reality. The wholesome upbringing and educational opportunities from generous parents provide the environment that allows him to grow and flourish in his human development to become a productive citizen. Good governance, just structures, a level playing field, solid family ties, wholesome upbringing, quality education, opportunities provide the social mobility to allow the children of the poor to get out of poverty and move to the ranks of the middle class.

The Church is not unmindful of certain realities. For instance, many families continue to be deprived from the right to earn a just living wage that will provide beyond the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter, the wherewithal to send their children to school. This is a grave social imbalance for no one dismisses the chance at acquiring knowledge and skills, and the possibility of a bright future for himself and his children. The Church insists that the government should take a closer look at these marginalizing factors. Formidable as they are, they are not insurmountable if government channels the rightful funds to the rightful needs.

The Church also desires to point out that though contraception seemingly solves the problem it merely mitigates the strain that additional children would pose on an already large family; it does not add to the material wherewithal for the family’s survival. Moreover, it fails to consider the long run impact of small families. The smaller families by a contracepting generation may reduce the economic burden of child rearing but they will face an uncertain economic future in the old age with very few children sharing the heavier burden of health and medical care when they become elderly.

A government that pursues the short-sighted policy of contracepting the present generation is committing the resources of future government to provide for the social security requirements of this contracepted generation. This is precisely the problem faced worldwide by countries that have contracepted and aborted their next generation labor force. From an advantaged position of having a huge labor force of young people we should learn from their experience.

+NEREO P. ODCHIMAR, DD

Bishop of Tandag

CBCP President

January 29, 2011

The Christmas and New Year Statements of Bishop Nereo Odchimar, President of the CBCP, versus the RH Bill and the ideology behind it

From the Christmas 2010 Message, Greetings in the Newly-Born Messiah:

Nevertheless, the events in human history can sometimes obscure our faith in Him who is the Prince of Peace, Lord of Consolation, and Incarnate Hope. The threat of war, political unrest, and armed conflicts put nations in constant fear. In our country, acquiring peace in Muslim Mindanao seems almost hopeless while insurgency, coup attempts, and crimes such as extrajudicial killing, terrorism and the like continue to interrupt the smooth progress of national affairs. And the most glaring among others is that unpeace in the mother’s womb. With the approval of RH Bill, a woman’s womb can be a ferocious threat to those who are yet to be born. In the face of difficult situations, we can only ask: How can we speak of good tidings where poverty is almost all around the place? What is left in the store for the marginalized, the unprivileged, the oppressed, and the poor? 

However ironic it may seem, everyone can still gladly sing: Joy to the world the Lord is come! We marvel at how the street children, the prisoners, the people in Payatas and Smokey Mountain, and the indigenous tribes could sing their heart out to the tune of Christmas Jingles. Armed Forces have their camps decorated with Christmas trees and lanterns; insurgents leave their guns in the fox hole. Conflicting parties seek reconciliation and most often, ceasefire and peace-talks befall on Christmas. Many a great wonderful thing happens in this most anticipated season of the year. Lonely men and women cheer up; Bad people turn good; Self-seeking ones become Santa Clauses.

Here, we are made to see the irresistible power of Christ to change the face of the world according to His own plan—“For I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow (Jer. 31:13).” If we look at the stable at Bethlehem in its utter ordinariness, it reflects the same indigence, misery, and confusion in the world; but, the very presence of the Holy Child laid in the manger signifies the overwhelming transformation of that empty place into a beautiful belen.

From the New Year Message, Peace and Prosperity to One and All:

There have been measures led by the government and by some other private institutions that fight poverty. The most conspicuous among others is the campaign against corruption. I would like to agree that corruption is the radical cause of the misery of Filipinos. Therefore, it is but only proper to reject what is base and dishonorable! Let us then intensify and sustain this righteous effort of eradicating graft and corruption.

However, there are other measures that apparently disagree to the very conscience of many Christian Filipinos. There are those who believe that poverty is often a consequence of demographic change. For this reason, there are international campaigns afoot to reduce birth-rates, sometimes using methods that often fail to respect even the right to life. The Holy Father Benedict XXVI, in his address on the occasion of the World Day of Peace, wrote: “The extermination of millions of unborn children in the name of the fight against poverty actually constitutes the destruction of the poorest of all human beings. And yet it remains the case that in 1981, around 40% of the world’s population was below the threshold of absolute poverty, while today that percentage has been reduced by as much as half, and whole peoples have escaped from poverty despite experiencing substantial demographic growth.” This implies that we can combat poverty even without depopulation. 

“See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?... (Is. 43:19).” The word of the Lord spoken by the prophet Isaiah opens us to the reality of God who initiates the work of transformation. God is doing something new—perhaps something better than what we see around. This boldly expresses God’s loving concern with the plight of His people. Here, God assures us that social transformation can happen. Peace and prosperity is within our reach. And the certainty of its realization lies in the fact that we are not alone in this task. God is with us!