Cbcp Stand Against Rh Bill

A CBCP Pastoral Letter on the latest decision on the Reproductive Health Bill

Contraception is Corruption!

 Seeking Light and Guidance on the RH Bill Issue

“What then should we do?” (Lk. 3, 10)

 As we begin the nine-day Misa de Gallo today, our thoughts turn to John the Baptist, the one who points to Jesus, the Christ Child. People came to him to ask, “What then should we do?” because their hearts were filled with expectation for the Messiah. (Lk. 3,15) They needed reason to hope. St. John the Baptist told them to share what they had, to act with justice, and shun extortion.

Today, our question as a people of God, regarding the controversial RH bill, may be the same. What then should we do?

On behalf of the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, I reiterate the collective discernment of the Philippine bishops that the RH Bill if passed into law can harm our nation. Contraception corrupts the soul. The RH Bill is being gift wrapped to look like a gift for maternal health care. It is not so. It will lead to greater crimes against women.

The poor are being promised a better life through the RH Bill. It will not be so. The poor can rise from their misery through more accessible education, better hospitals and lesser government corruption. Money for contraceptives can be better used for education and authentic health care.

The youth are being made to believe that sex before marriage is acceptable provided you know how to avoid pregnancy. Is this moral? Those who corrupt the minds of children will invoke divine wrath on themselves.

The Reproductive Health Bill, if passed into law in its present form, will put the moral fibre of our nation at risk. As we your bishops 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.

What then should we do?

We...