The call from Ozamiz Archbishop Jesus Dosado to deny communion to "anti-life legislators" has been hitting the newspapers lately. This position is consistent with the "Stop D.E.A.T.H. (divorce, euthanasia, abortion, total reproductive health, and homosexuality) Campaign" of the Catholic Church for the 40th anniversary of the Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life) on July 25.
We are aghast at how some bishops and other religious leaders are using an antiquated 40 year-old encyclical (Humanae Vitae) in spreading disinformation on the reproductive health bills and the anti-discrimination bill filed in Congress. The bishops choose to demonize these bills and look for bogeymen that are not at all present: abortion in the Reproductive Health Bills and same-sex marriage in the Anti-Discrimination Bill.
In the Catholic community, bishops are supposed to be the symbol of truth and morality, yet they propagate blatant lies and have yet again threatened the policymakers as well as the general public with "excommunication" if they do not agree with their stand. This makes us wonder: What are the real reasons for the Church's antagonism towards these bills?
We do not see the logic in the Catholic Church's opposition to reproductive health, particularly to its ten elements: 1. Family Planning, 2. Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, 3. Prevention and Management of Abortion Complications, 4. Prevention and Treatment of Reproductive Tract Infections/ Sexually Transmitted Infections/ HIV/AIDS, 5. Education and Counseling on Sexuality and Sexual Health, 6. Breast and Reproductive Tract Cancers and Other Gynecological Conditions, 7. Men's Reproductive Health, 8. Adolescent Reproductive Health, 9. Ending Violence Against Women, and 10. Prevention and Treatment of Infertility and Sexual Disorder. These are geared for the betterment of the people and country.
We expect our national government to prioritize the needs of the Filipino people. The country's bleak situation is made even worse by the government's refusal to promote the provision of reproductive health care services to the people. The Philippines has committed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 in eradicating extreme poverty, which includes promoting gender equality, reduction of child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV & AIDS—a commitment reiterated by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) during the 2005 World Summit in New York. This is nothing but mere hypocritical grandstanding done at the expense of the lives of our women and children. The stance GMA has taken on the issue of family planning or birth control—that of a devout Catholic—turns out to be politically motivated. She is siding with the bishops because there is no political advantage to be gained in doing otherwise.
The arrogance of some Catholic Church leaders and GMA herself has made them blind to the plight of the masses whose suffering is further aggravated by the current food and economic crises. This plight has been brought about by a confluence of factors, including a lack of access to reproductive health care services. The bishops' attempts to block the bills' passage through political blackmail—dangling the Holy Eucharist in the faces of supportive legislators—hit only the poor women, children, and families who are at the losing end of the deal. This makes us think: What now is the greater sin?
We do not believe in the viability of the "Stop D.E.A.T.H." campaign of the Catholic Church, because it is neither scientific nor mass-oriented. To this, we answer: "Fight for L.I.F.E. (good Leadership, Inclusiveness, Freedom of choice, and Equality for all)."
Aside from curtailing people's access to reproductive health information and services, we believe that the "Stop D.E.A.T.H" campaign of the Catholic Church will only open the floodgates to hate crimes against the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) community, reproductive health advocates, and ordinary citizens who believe that choosing what is good for them is a basic right.
We therefore beseech the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to stop their political blackmail and for the national government to do their avowed task of creating policies that respond to the real needs of the people. We cannot afford to merely oppose measures and not offer real, practical, humane, and responsive solutions, not when millions of lives are at stake.
We have lost confidence in GMA long before this issue, with her dirty record of political maneuvering. Time and again, she has shown that the interest of the ordinary Filipinos does not matter to her.
We are aghast at how some bishops and other religious leaders are using an antiquated 40 year-old encyclical (Humanae Vitae) in spreading disinformation on the reproductive health bills and the anti-discrimination bill filed in Congress. The bishops choose to demonize these bills and look for bogeymen that are not at all present: abortion in the Reproductive Health Bills and same-sex marriage in the Anti-Discrimination Bill.
In the Catholic community, bishops are supposed to be the symbol of truth and morality, yet they propagate blatant lies and have yet again threatened the policymakers as well as the general public with "excommunication" if they do not agree with their stand. This makes us wonder: What are the real reasons for the Church's antagonism towards these bills?
We do not see the logic in the Catholic Church's opposition to reproductive health, particularly to its ten elements: 1. Family Planning, 2. Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, 3. Prevention and Management of Abortion Complications, 4. Prevention and Treatment of Reproductive Tract Infections/ Sexually Transmitted Infections/ HIV/AIDS, 5. Education and Counseling on Sexuality and Sexual Health, 6. Breast and Reproductive Tract Cancers and Other Gynecological Conditions, 7. Men's Reproductive Health, 8. Adolescent Reproductive Health, 9. Ending Violence Against Women, and 10. Prevention and Treatment of Infertility and Sexual Disorder. These are geared for the betterment of the people and country.
We expect our national government to prioritize the needs of the Filipino people. The country's bleak situation is made even worse by the government's refusal to promote the provision of reproductive health care services to the people. The Philippines has committed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 in eradicating extreme poverty, which includes promoting gender equality, reduction of child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV & AIDS—a commitment reiterated by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) during the 2005 World Summit in New York. This is nothing but mere hypocritical grandstanding done at the expense of the lives of our women and children. The stance GMA has taken on the issue of family planning or birth control—that of a devout Catholic—turns out to be politically motivated. She is siding with the bishops because there is no political advantage to be gained in doing otherwise.
The arrogance of some Catholic Church leaders and GMA herself has made them blind to the plight of the masses whose suffering is further aggravated by the current food and economic crises. This plight has been brought about by a confluence of factors, including a lack of access to reproductive health care services. The bishops' attempts to block the bills' passage through political blackmail—dangling the Holy Eucharist in the faces of supportive legislators—hit only the poor women, children, and families who are at the losing end of the deal. This makes us think: What now is the greater sin?
We do not believe in the viability of the "Stop D.E.A.T.H." campaign of the Catholic Church, because it is neither scientific nor mass-oriented. To this, we answer: "Fight for L.I.F.E. (good Leadership, Inclusiveness, Freedom of choice, and Equality for all)."
Aside from curtailing people's access to reproductive health information and services, we believe that the "Stop D.E.A.T.H" campaign of the Catholic Church will only open the floodgates to hate crimes against the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) community, reproductive health advocates, and ordinary citizens who believe that choosing what is good for them is a basic right.
We therefore beseech the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to stop their political blackmail and for the national government to do their avowed task of creating policies that respond to the real needs of the people. We cannot afford to merely oppose measures and not offer real, practical, humane, and responsive solutions, not when millions of lives are at stake.
We have lost confidence in GMA long before this issue, with her dirty record of political maneuvering. Time and again, she has shown that the interest of the ordinary Filipinos does not matter to her.
No to "Stop D.E.A.T.H."!
Fight for L.I.F.E.!
No to hypocrisy!
Oust Gloria!
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