“As I have said, the Church is not meddling in state affairs when it speaks out against the RH bill because this concerns a moral decision. It would be highly remiss of her to be silent when she should be helping her flock in forming good consciences to help them make good decisions.”

freedom of expression is really a good thing though unfortunately, the catholic church uses this freedom to propagate lies (“THOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR!!”) in regards to the RH Bill like the YouTube priest who said the this bill will teach pornography to grade 2 and velarde’s ominous threat that this bill will lead us back to slavery… (then he thank god because his god brought us ondoy as a “reminder”)..

I have to say that indeed, you have all the right to say your piece on faith, on the Catholic Church which you choose to embrace, and on whatever else you want to speak on. Such is the beauty of the freedom of expression.

Like you, i speak my mind even in venues where i am the minority. And in this case, i choose to speak up on your major message — that the Church’s role is to give moral guidance.

11 women Filipino women die daily due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. The big number of those who die are women in poverty (because rich women can pay for whatever medical services they need) who do not have access to the reproductive health (RH) services they so need. The Church position against the RH Bill means that these crucial services will not be implemented. Thus, the massacre of our poor women will continue. Is this moral?

Studies show that about 30% of our young people think that HIV/AIDS is curable (YAFS3). We know this is not the case (yet). Moreover, 30% of annual births are those from teen-age pregnancies (DOH). The Church position against the RH Bill means that crucial age-appropriate information and education that will address our young people’s needs and can possibly make them more responsible in their relationships will not be implemented. Does the Church want our young people to remain ignorant and helpless? Is this moral?

A priest (Fr. Bing Arellano in his ‘Philippine RH Bill: A Moral Evil’, you can catch him on You Tube) said that the ideal number of children for Filipino families is 5-7. Studies show that Filipino women only want 2-3 children (NDHS2005) but that women in the poorest quintile of our population give birth to 3x as many children than those who are not poor. It is undeniable that there is a direct correlation between poverty and family size as data show that the poorest quintile is composed of the biggest families. Now don’t get me wrong, I AM NOT SAYING THAT HAVING MANY CHILDREN IS THE CAUSE OF POVERTY BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY OTHER FACTORS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. However, is it not reasonable to think that OVERCOMING POVERTY IS MORE DIFFICULT FOR BIG FAMILIES because of the very limited resources they can use and share with one another? Priests preach that having a big family is good even if one is dirt-poor. What about the quality of life of these people? Is this really moral?

The Catholic hierarchy also says that the object of sex is procreation. Thus, the position is that women’s and/or couples’ desire to only have 2-3 children SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED. Thus, the Church prohibits making available to THOSE WHO WANT AND NEED, the various scientifically proven and medically safe family planning methods. Couples should have as many children as possible. It does not matter if couples are unable to give these children the love and caring, the education, nourishment, health services, etc. these children have a right to. Is this moral?

Ah yes, there are the Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods. You might be surprised but the RH Bill does not go against NFP. In fact, the Bill wants to make available ALL methods so that women and couples can make real intelligent and informed choices (including NFP). However, it should be emphasized that NO ONE METHOD IS GOOD FOR EVERYBODY. The NFP presumes that everyone is in an ideal relationship. That the FULL COOPERATION of partners is readily there. Ever heard of women who are in unequal, even abusive relationships? There are a lot and in my line of work, it seems to be the norm rather than the excemption. So many women are unable (due to existing power dynamics) to make decisions by and for themselves. have you heard a woman say ‘ginamit ako ng asawa ko?’ referring to having sex with her husband/partner? Yes, Cathy, many women are still treated as ‘gamit.’ Would you expect these women to succeed in convincing their husbands/partners to use NFP? Would the Church want these women to remain powerless? Is this moral?

The same Fr. Arellano said that couples should have as many children as possible because our country is among the biggest labor exporters in the world! That this is our advantage over other countries. True, OFWs bring home billions of dollars and is the biggest reason why this country’s economy is kept afloat. BUT, have we taken a close look at the social costs of 10 million Filipinos working abroad? Have we looked into the problems of broken families? Have we addressed these problems? have we looked into the problems of millions of young people growing up with absentee parent/s? What? Let’s give birth to all these babies then let us work abroad and leave them behind because this is the country’s role in the international labor market?

Admittedly Cathy, i don’t understand the logic. I thought that the Roman Catholic Church is for the welfare of families but in this case, it seems to me that dollars are far more important than families. Is this moral?

I can go on and on but will still end with this: Because of all of the above, i dare say that the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines (represented by the ‘imperfect men’ [i borrowed this from you] who speak for the Church), is remiss in its obligation to give moral guidance to its flock.

Like you, i am quite happy with my decision — to follow my concience and not any organized religion.

Peace!

http://www.queerty.com/the-pope-says-condoms-dont-fight-aids-could-he-be-right-20090330/

http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm

http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/08_arguments-for-god.htm

http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/gods-existence.htm

Kreeft thinks that there is a strong cumulative rational proof for God’s existence. He mentions 20.

Personal but it needs to be questioned. When and where have you seen and felt god? tell me.

The pope should’ve expressed that better then and not say something false about contraceptives.

I don’t want to talk about how the concept of hell is spiritual blackmail because it is a touchy subject. but don’t you find it funny that the Church always uses hell in order to motivate people to do what it wants them to do?

how do you even know that Christ gave you the Roman Catholic church? The organizaion you are defending arose out of council 300 years AFTER the death of christ. early christianity was a group of beliefs that were very diverse and different from each other. how do you know that you got the right set of beliefs and that you haven’t lost the right ones to history? moreover, how sure are you that christianity is even correct? why not judaism or islam? or even the older polytheistic and animalistic faiths? they all make the claim that they are the true way, and that following other faiths will land you in hell.

How can you be a fan of Francis of Assissi?? he was famous for talking to animals! don’t you think that’s a bit crazy? and yes it’s given us virtuous men, but also take into account the rest of their flock. I think the bad outweighs the good here.

No it doesn’t. modern contraceptives have been proven in studies to be significantly more successful than natural family planning at population control

Actually you are wrong. the Church isn’t being punished for it.

And even if the catholic church does not speak up you won’t hear a deafening silence. there are other points of view out there. My problem with the church is that they claim theirs is superior to everyone else.