For the record: Catholic Pastoral Letters on the RH Bill, December 15 to 16, 2012

1) The Pastoral Letter of the CBCP on the RH Bill: 

Contraception is Corruption! (Signed by Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan.)

The same letter, in Filipino:

Ang Kontrasepsyon Ay Katiwalian CBCP Pastoral Statement

2) Pastoral Letter of Bishop Ramon Villena of the Diocese of Bayombong: 

We Believe in God, We Believe in Life, We Believe in Miracles.

3) Pastoral Letter of Abp. Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on the RH Bill (after the 2nd voting). "Pahayag sa Simbanggabi, Dec. 16, 2012..."

CAP commentary: This is a different and later statement from Cardinal Tagle's statement of December 12, 2012 (See this: Statement of His Eminence, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, on the RH bill)

In the interests of fairness and accuracy, this statement by Cardinal Tagle -- which mentions the RH bill only in passing -- does not directly tell Congressmen and Senators to vote versus the RH bill. Instead, it simply tells them to "accept Jesus with joy", and reminds them that it is the Word and Wisdom of Jesus that is necessary to form consciences.

Tagle Statement

4) The Pastoral Letter that Archbishop Socrates Villegas penned specifically for his Archdiocese:

PRAISE AND REBUKE

TO BE READ IN ALL MASSES IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LINGAYEN DAGUPAN AT THE START OF THE HOMILY ON DECEMBER 16, 2012.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, our congressmen voted on second reading the Reproductive Health Bill. The goal is to rush the passage of the Bill before the start of the Congress Christmas break. The same seems to be the goal of our senators.

I am very pleased to issue this public commendation to our representatives in Congress namely Congresswoman Gina de Venecia, Congresswoman Rachel Arenas and Congressman Leopoldo Bataoil for voting against the Reproductive Health Bill. They are our heroic and exemplary representatives in Congress. They voted to stand up for life. They voted to stand up for morality and decency. They voted as God loving government officials. We commend them for their courageous conviction and encourage you my dear Catholic faithful to support them with your prayers and make known to them your appreciation for their fidelity to our cherished Filipino Catholic values.

The Reproductive Health Bill, if passed into law in its present form, will put the moral fibre of our nation at risk. As I have said in the past, a contraceptive mentality is the mother of an abortion mentality. The wide and free accessibility of contraceptives, even to the youth, will result in the destruction of family life and in greater violence against women.

The Church is your mother protecting you from harm. If passed into law in its present form, it will not take long for the supporters of the Bill to see the irreparable harm they will bequeath to the younger generation. Those who mislead the young invoke divine punishment on themselves. Let us leave to the young a legacy of decency and morality not promiscuity and moral corruption.

+SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS

Archbishop of Lingayen Dagupan

5) The Pastoral Letter of Bishop Leo Drona:
An Open Letter to the Congressmen of the Four Districts of Laguna

Statement of His Eminence, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, on the RH bill

Statement of the Archdiocese of Manila

The vote in favour of the RH Bill in Congress is unfortunate and tragic. But we do not take it as a defeat of truth – for truth shall prevail, especially the truth about human life, marriage and the family. We thank and commend the Representatives of Congress, the Church people, organizations and citizens who worked hard and tirelessly in a variety of ways to expose the flaws of the RH bill, to form consciences and to contribute to the search for the common good. This vote leads us to further commit the Church, specifically the Archdiocese of Manila to the service of the poor, of the family, of women, of infants and children. We will work harder to promote the sanctity of human life and of the human person, the integral education of the youth, the access of the poor to social and medical services, the preservation of the true meaning of marriage, and stewardship of creation. We call on all Filipinos to work towards healing, and journey together humbly and justly as children of God.

+ LUIS ANTONIO G. CARDINAL TAGLE

Archbishop of Manila

12 December 2012


Source of image

New CBCP Pastoral Letter versus the RH bill

A summary by Jose Sison of this pastoral letter can be found here. 

A video-summary of the pastoral letter can be found here


A plan of action on the basis of this letter can be found here.

CHOOSING LIFE, REJECTING THE RH BILL

(A Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines)

Our Filipino Brothers and Sisters:

The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights (Art. II, Section 11). The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception (Art. II, Section 12).

Background

We begin by citing the Philippine Constitution. We do so because we intend to write you on the basis of the fundamental ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people and not on the basis of specifically Catholic religious teachings.

We are at a crossroads as a nation. Before us are several versions of a proposed bill, the Reproductive Health bill or sanitized as a Responsible Parenthood bill. This proposed bill in all its versions calls us to make a moral choice: to choose life or to choose death.

At the outset we thank the government for affording us an opportunity to express our views in friendly dialogue. Sadly our dialogue has simply revealed how far apart our respective positions are. Therefore, instead of building false hopes, we wish at the present time to draw up clearly what we object to and what we stand for.

Moral Choices at the Crossroads -- at EDSA I and Now

Twenty five years ago in 1986 we Catholic Bishops made a prophetic moral judgment on political leadership. With this prophetic declaration we believe that we somehow significantly helped open the door for EDSA I and a window of political integrity.

Today we come to a new national crossroads and we now have to make a similar moral choice. Our President rallied the country with the election cry, “Kung walang corrupt walang mahirap.” As religious leaders we believe that there is a greater form of corruption, namely, moral corruption which s really the root of all corruption. On the present issue, it would be morally corrupt to disregard the moral implications of the RH bill.

This is our unanimous collective moral judgment: We strongly reject the RH bill.

Commonly Shared Human and Cultural Values – Two Fundamental Principles

Far from being simply a Catholic issue, the RH bill is a major attack on authentic human values and on Filipino cultural values regarding human life that all of us have cherished since time immemorial.

Simply stated the RH Bill does not respect moral sense that is central to Filipino cultures. It is the product of the spirit of this world, a secularist, materialistic spirit that considers morality as a set of teachings from which one can choose, according to the spirit of the age. Some it accepts, others it does not accept. Unfortunately, we see the subtle spread of this post-modern spirit in our own Filipino society.

Our position stands firmly on two of the core principles commonly shared by all who believe in God:  

(1) Human life is the most sacred physical gift with which God, the author of life, endows a human being. Placing artificial obstacles to prevent human life from being formed and being born most certainly contradicts this fundamental truth of human life. In the light of the widespread influence of the post-modern spirit in our world, we consider this position as nothing less than prophetic. As religious leaders we must proclaim this truth fearlessly in season and out of season.

(2) It is parents, cooperating with God, who bring children into the world. It is also they who have the primary inalienable right and responsibility to nurture them, care for them, and educate them that they might grow as mature persons according to the will of the Creator.

What We Specifically Object to in the RH Bill

Advocates contend that the RH bill promotes reproductive health. The RH Bill certainly does not. It does not protect the health of the sacred human life that is being formed or born. The very name “contraceptive” already reveals the anti-life nature of the means that the RH bill promotes. These artificial means are fatal to human life, either preventing it from fruition or actually destroying it. Moreover, scientists have known for a long time that contraceptives may cause cancer. Contraceptives are hazardous to a woman’s health.

Advocates also say that the RH bill will reduce abortion rates. But many scientific analysts themselves wonder why prevalent contraceptive use sometimes raises the abortion rate. In truth, contraceptives provide a false sense of security that takes away the inhibition to sexual activity. Scientists have noted numerous cases of contraceptive failure. Abortion is resorted to, an act that all religious traditions would judge as sinful. “Safe sex” to diminish abortion rate is false propaganda.

Advocates moreover say that the RH bill will prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. This goes against the grain of many available scientific data. In some countries where condom use is prevalent, HIV/ AIDS continues to spread. Condoms provide a false security that strongly entices individuals towards increased sexual activity, increasing likewise the incidence of HIV/AIDS. “Safe sex” to prevent HIV /AIDS is false propaganda.

Advocates also assert that the RH Bill empowers women with ownership of their own bodies. This is in line with the post-modern spirit declaring that women have power over their own bodies without the dictation of any religion. How misguided this so-called “new truth” is! For, indeed, as created by God our bodies are given to us to keep and nourish. We are stewards of our own bodies and we must follow God’s will on this matter according to an informed and right conscience. Such a conscience must certainly be enlightened and guided by religious and moral teachings provided by various religious and cultural traditions regarding the fundamental dignity and worth of human life.   

Advocates also say that the RH bill is necessary to stop overpopulation and to escape from poverty. Our own government statistical office has concluded that there is no overpopulation in the Philippines but only the over-concentration of population in a number of urban centers. Despite other findings to the contrary, we must also consider the findings of a significant group of renowned economic scholars, including economic Nobel laureates, who have found no direct correlation between population and poverty. In fact, many Filipino scholars have concluded that population is not the cause of our poverty. The causes of our poverty are: flawed philosophies of development, misguided economic policies, greed, corruption, social inequities, lack of access to education, poor economic and social services, poor infrastructures, etc. World organizations estimate that in our country more than P400 billion pesos are lost yearly to corruption. The conclusion is unavoidable: for our country to escape from poverty, we have to address the real causes of poverty and not population.

In the light of the above, we express our clear objections:

1. We object to the non-consideration of moral principles, the bedrock of law, in legislative discussions of bills that are intended for the good of individuals and for the common good.

2. We are against the anti-life, anti-natal and contraceptive mentality that is reflected in media and in some proposed legislative bills.

3. We object strongly to efforts at railroading the passage of the RH bill.

4. We denounce the over-all trajectory of the RH bill towards population control.

5. We denounce the use of public funds for contraceptives and sterilization.

6. We condemn compulsory sex education that would effectively let parents abdicate their primary role of educating their own children, especially in an area of life – sexuality – which is a sacred gift of God.

What We Stand For

On this matter of proposed RH bills, these are our firm convictions:

1. We are deeply concerned about the plight of the many poor, especially of suffering women, who are struggling for a better life and who must seek it outside of our country, or have recourse to a livelihood less than decent.

2. We are pro-life. We must defend human life from the moment of conception or fertilization up to its natural end.

3. We believe in the responsible and natural regulation of births through Natural Family Planning for which character building is necessary which involves sacrifice, discipline and respect for the dignity of the spouse.

4. We believe that we are only stewards of our own bodies. Responsibility over our own bodies must follow the will of God who speaks to us through conscience. 

5. We hold that on the choices related to the RH bill, conscience must not only be informed but most of all rightly guided through the teachings of one’s faith.

6. We believe in the freedom of religion and the right of conscientious objection in matters that are contrary to one’s faith. The sanctions and penalties embodied in the proposed RH bill are one more reason for us to denounce it.

Our Calls

As religious leaders we have deeply and prayerfully reflected on this burning issue. We have unanimously made the moral judgment – to reject the RH agenda and to choose life.

1. We call for a fundamental transformation of our attitudes and behavior towards all human life especially the most defenseless, namely, human life being formed or being conceived. The cheapness with which many seem to consider human life is a great bane to our religious-oriented nation.

2. We call upon our legislators to consider the RH bill in the light of the God-given dignity and worth of human life and, therefore, to shelve it completely as contrary to our ideals and aspirations as a people. We thank our legislators who have filed bills to defend human life from the moment of conception and call upon all other legislators to join their ranks.

3. We thank the great multitude of lay people all over the country, and particularly the dedicated groups who made their presence felt in the halls of Congress, to defend and promote our position. We call upon other lay people and adherents of other religions to join the advocacy to defend and promote our commonly shared ideals and aspirations.

4. We call on our government to address effectively the real causes of poverty such as corruption, lack of social and economic services, lack of access to education and the benefits of development, social inequities.

5. We call for the establishment of more hospitals and clinics in the rural areas, the deployment of more health personnel to provide more access to health services, the building of more schools, the provision of more aid to the poor for education, and the building of more and better infrastructures necessary for development.

6. We echo the challenge we prophetically uttered 25 years ago at EDSA I and call upon all people of good will who share our conviction: “…let us pray together, reason together, decide together, act together, always to the end that the truth prevail” over the many threats to human life and to our shared human and cultural values.

We commend our efforts against the RH bill (or the Responsible Parenthood bill – its new name) to the blessing of our almighty and loving God, from whom all life comes and for whom it is destined.   

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

+Nereo P. Odchimar, D.D.

Bishop of Tandag

President, CBCP

January 30, 2011             

Securing our Moral Heritage: Pastoral Letter of the CBCP

Securing our Moral Heritage: Towards a Moral Society

(A Pastoral Exhortation on Proposed Bills on Sex Education and Reproductive Health)

It was you who created my inmost self, and put me together in my mother’s womb;

for all these mysteries I thank you: for the wonder of myself,

for the wonder of your works (Psalm 139:13-14, Jerusalem Bible).

The divinely inspired words of the psalmist in the Sacred Scriptures frame our reflections. We wish to contribute towards our shared dream to become a nation of integrity. We write this letter on behalf of the community of the faithful entrusted to our spiritual care. We present our reflections to all men and women of good will and address ourselves particularly to the leaders and members of the present government.

CORRUPTION – THE REJECTION OF MORAL AND RELIGIOUS TRUTHS

“Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.” “Without corruption, there will be no poverty.” This was the political rallying cry of our new President. It resonated deeply, and still does, with the longing of our people for truth and integrity, for a moral society.

Allow us to remind you of two timeless and simple but profound truths:

1.At the foundation of the moral society is a central religious truth – our divine origin and our divinely-given identity as persons. God created our inmost self, our inmost being, and knit us in our mother’s womb. We come from God. We are created by God. Our capacity to understand truth and to love, our capacity to have compassion for the weak and for the feeble – these are divinely-endowed wonders of ourselves, of the persons that we are, wonderfully created unto God’s image and likeness. To respect God’s creative act and to be true to God’s image are at the heart of being moral persons.

2.Real corruption is moral and spiritual corruption. The rejection or disregard of morality and religious belief is at the core of corruption. Moral and spiritual corruption breeds its kind in other spheres of life - political, social, and economic.

Therefore, to get rid of corruption at all levels of life we as a people must acknowledge our origin from the creative power of God and must be true to our identity as created unto God’s image and likeness. This moral truth is at the very foundation of a civilization of truth and love, a humane society, a moral society. To disregard moral and religious truths such as this is to be defenseless to the onslaught of corruption. In brief, we have to restore and secure the moral heritage that governs us as persons, our social relationships, and our institutions.

All the faithful, clergy religious and laity, and all our religious institutions are called to proclaim these moral and religious truths. It is our divine mission. Our action or lack of action might sometimes, sadly, contradict our call and weaken our credibility. But realizing this with the deepest sorrow we nonetheless cannot abdicate our duty and mission. We have to vigorously proclaim truth and integrity, combat corruption, and help build up a moral society.

But the fight against moral and spiritual corruption in our society is not only the duty of the Church. It is also the duty of the government. This is clear from the Constitution: “The government is to support parents in rearing the youth in the development of moral character...,” (Art 2, sec. 12) “…in the youth’s physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being,” (sec. 13) “…in the school’s role in ethical and spiritual values, development of moral character and personal discipline.” (Art. 14, sec. 3)

For this reason we address two concurrent and related issues that bring serious implications on the good of the faithful – on you as parents, on young people and ultimately on the family -- the crucial building block of society. These two issues are: sex education and reproductive health.

1.SEX EDUCATION: “Adolescent Reproductive Health Through Lifeskills-Based Education

Here are some news reports on sex education that the Department of Education has not disclaimed:

a.The aim of the sex education program is to curb the population growth rate and reduce HIV incidence among young Filipinos.

b.Beginning with the 5th grade, information will be given on such topics as reproductive systems, cycles, hygiene, gender identity, pre-marital sex, sexually transmitted diseases.

c.Given the right information the hope is that the children would make responsible decisions.

We know that sex education concepts have been in place since the 1970’s. The proposed sex education program further highlights and fortifies the concept that contraceptives provide “safe and satisfying sex.” But the following we also know:

a.The failures rates of contraceptives against sexually transmitted diseases are high.

b.Oral contraceptive pills are classified as Group I carcinogenic, i.e., “there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity.”

c.With its very liberal sex education programs and its aggressive attitude in pushing contraceptives and condoms for safe sex, the United States still has the highest teen birth rate, 93.0 per 1000, and one of the highest rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) among teens in the industrialized world.

We reiterate that the Church is not against sex education. But for reasons of morality and religious faith, we strongly object to the proposed sex education program. The program is devoid of any substantive moral and religious value formation

By its nature, human sexuality is a sacred gift from God and is destined for a divine purpose. Moral and religious value formation is, therefore, absolutely indispensable in appreciating and treasuring human sexuality. This divine gift must not be taught in a manner emptied of its deep spiritual and moral dimension.

In matters of character formation and nurturance in moral values, it is the parents who possess the fundamental and natural right and duty, a right acknowledged in the Constitution, a right which government may not take away and arrogate unto itself.

Lessons on human sexuality are lessons about love, most importantly about God’s gift of love manifested in the total sexual dimension of the human person. In the familial setting of a human trinity, father, mother, and child, there is a sincere and palpable gift of self and love from the parents. In the family, the lessons of love through human sexuality can be learned with respect and awe for the “wonder of God’s work.” Such setting and such manner of teaching will not be found in a classroom sex education program designed simply to inform and not form. Sex education has to impart a sense of the sacredness of the gift of human sexuality. For sex education to be proper, conscience formation, moral and spiritual guidance must be integrated with the whole process.

2.REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: “The Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2010” (HB 96)

House Bill 96 is substantially the same Reproductive Health Bill formerly known as HB 5043.

With the utmost concern and urgency we express our strong objection to the fundamental aspects of House Bill 96. The basis of our moral objection is once again the central religious truth of the divine origin and divine image of the human person, of one’s being and life.

Like its predecessor the main purpose of House Bill 96 is to make barren what is by nature fruitful and generative of human life. It promotes contraceptive barriers, techniques, supplies, and services that control fertility as if it were a disease. Science has proven that some contraceptives render the mother’s womb inhospitable, thereby causing abortion. And abortion, as Pope John Paul II has cited in “Evangelium Vitae,” the Gospel of Life, was the instrument of the first systematic population control program by a dominant power on a poor slave population, as narrated in the book of Exodus (cf. Ex. 1: 8-22).

Moreover the Constitution protects “the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception” (Art. II, Sec. 12). And conception is the moment of fertilization. At implantation the new life is already a seven-day old human being.

For this reason, if its ambiguous stand on contraceptives that are not abortifacients is corrected in favor of moral truth, a house bill such as the new House Bill No. 13 (An Act Providing for the Safety and Protection of the Unborn Child and for Other Purposes) is laudable. This bill seeks to make operational the Constitution’s Declaration of Principles and State Policies, where it indicates that “the State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.” (Ibid.)

POPULATION AND POVERTY

Many people think that to reduce poverty it is necessary to control population. We would raise serious questions regarding this opinion. Does this opinion not have a certain bias against the poor? In population control are not the real targets the millions of poor families whose numbers must be reduced?

Moreover, it is our belief that the causes of poverty are complex. We believe that poverty is caused by flawed development philosophies, plans and priorities, by corruption, by inequitable wealth distribution and access to economic resources and benefits, by poor delivery of social services, by unjust economic policies, and by imbalances in our political structures that favor the few and powerful over the many poor. It is social injustice that is at the root of poverty. And social injustice is simply another name for moral and spiritual corruption, the jettisoning of moral and spiritual values from private and public life.

If this is so, would not the overwhelming attention to control population be a convenient way to ignore the greater causes that keep our poor people below the poverty line? These are the causes of poverty, the removal of which would comprehensively transform our social order and establish social justice.

CONCLUSION

To plan our families is, indeed, a Christian value and responsibility. This is why we support the couple’s desire for the planning and proper spacing of their children through natural family planning programs in our dioceses. A contraceptive-oriented population control program is not the moral way. Even if powerful organizations in the world might imperiously and ideologically promote and fund such programs we would still object. For we believe that such programs contradict our moral and religious beliefs. Moral truth is not created by the powerful or by popular opinion. Moral truth is what God wills from the Sacred Scriptures, interpreted and taught authentically by the Church’s teaching authority.

The constitutional protection of the unborn child from the first instant of conception is a legacy given to us some twenty years ago during the presidency of President Corazon C. Aquino. In spite of all the foreseeable opposition of politicians and powerful lobby groups, we pray that President Aquino’s moral legacy could be finally and fully realized during the term of her son, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III.

May the Good Shepherd, who himself was raised in a family, bless your family and every child who is nurtured in your homes. May Mary, the Queen of the Family, enlighten and inspire our new leader to build a nation of truth and integrity, a truly moral society.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:

+ NEREO P. ODCHIMAR, D.D.

Bishop of Tandag

President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

July 24, 2010

Standing up for the Gospel of Life: The Official CBCP Statement on the Reproductive Health Bill

Standing up for the Gospel of Life
CBCP Pastoral Statement on Reproductive Health Bill

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative power of God (CCC 2258). The Church carries out the mandate of the Lord to go and proclaim to all the nations the Gospel of Life. The protection and preservation of human life and the preservation of the integrity of the procreative act of parents are important elements of our mission from the Lord. It is our fidelity to the Gospel of Life and our pastoral charity for the poor that leads us your pastors to make this moral stand regarding Reproductive Health Bill 5043 that is the object of deliberation in Congress.

The Bill makes a number of good points. Some of the issues that it includes under reproductive health care, for instance, are the kind of things no humane institution would have any reason to oppose—maternal, infant and child health and nutrition, promotion of breastfeeding, adolescent and youth health, elimination of violence against women, etc.; but the Bill as it stands now contains fatal flaws which if not corrected will make the Bill unacceptable. It is our collective discernment that the Bill in its present form poses a serious threat to life of infants in the womb. It is a source of danger for the stability of the family. It places the dignity of womanhood at great risk.

The Church has always concerned itself with the poor. It has innumerable institutions and programs meant to help the poor. Our objection to this Bill is precisely due to our concern that in the long run this Bill will not uplift the poor. “The increase or decrease of population growth does not by itself spell development or underdevelopment”. (CBCP Statement, July 10, 1990) Even as we recognize the right of the government to enact laws, we also reiterate that there must be no separation between God and Man. We appeal to our legislators to state in the Bill in clear categorical terms that human life from the moment of conception is sacred. We appeal to our legislators to insure that the Bill recognize, preserve and safeguard freedom of conscience and religion. The Bill must inspire parents not only to be responsible but to be heroic in their God-given and State-recognized duty of parenting. Without these conditions, the Bill if enacted into law will separate our nation from Almighty God.

Sacredness of Life from Conception. The current version of the Bill does not define clearly when the protection of life begins. Although it mentions that abortion is a crime it does not state explicitly that human life is to be protected upon conception as stated in the Constitution. This ambiguity can provide a loophole for contraceptives that prevent the implantation of the fertilized ovum. The prevention of implantation of the fertilized ovum is abortion. We cannot prevent overt abortions by doing hidden abortions. It is a fallacy to think that abortions can be prevented by promoting contraception. Contraception is intrinsically evil (CCC 2370, Humanae Vitae, 14).

Even in the case of doubt as to the precise moment of the beginning of human life, the mere probability that the fertilized ovum is already a human life renders it imperative that it be accorded the rights of a human person, the most basic of which is the right to life (Evangelium Vitae, #60; cfr. Declaration on Procured Abortion, Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, November 18, 1974). When there is doubt whether a human life is involved, it is immoral to kill it. This is not just specifically Catholic Church teaching but simply natural law ethics.

Freedom of Conscience. By mandating only one Reproductive Health Education Curriculum for public and private schools, the Bill could violate the consciences of educators who refuse to teach forms of family planning that violate their religious traditions. This provision also could violate the rights of parents to determine the education of their children if the proposed curriculum would contradict their religious beliefs.

The Bill mandates that employers should ensure the provision of an adequate quantity of reproductive health care services, supplies and devices for their employees. This provision could be a violation of the conscience of employers who do not wish to provide artificial means of contraception to their employees because of religious reasons.

The Bill’s provision that penalizes malicious disinformation against the intention and provisions of the Bill (without defining what malicious disinformation is) could restrict freedom of speech by discouraging legitimate dissent and hinder our mandate to teach morality according to our Catholic faith. The Bill does not mention any consultation with religious groups or churches which could be interpreted to mean that religious and moral beliefs of citizens are not significant factors in the formation of policies and programs involving reproductive health.

Heroic Parenting. Family health goes beyond a demographic target because it is principally about health and human rights. Gender equality and women empowerment are central elements of family health and family development. Since human resource is the principal asset of every country, effective family health care services must be given primacy to ensure the birth and care of healthy children and to promote responsible and heroic parenting. Respect for, protection and fulfillment of family health rights seek to promote not only the rights and welfare of adult individuals and couples but those of adolescents’ and children’s as well.

We admonish those who are promoting the Bill to consider these matters. It is the duty of every Catholic faithful to form and conform their consciences to the moral teaching of the Church. We call for a more widespread dialogue on this Bill.

As your Pastors we speak to you in the name of the Lord: Choose life and preserve it. Stand up for the Gospel of Life!

May Mary, Mother of Life, who carried in her womb Life Himself, guide us to the Truth of Life.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

+ANGEL LAGDAMEO, DD

Archbishop of Jaro

President, CBCP

November 14, 2008