ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Reproductive health Bill: Bishops urge politicians to respect the right to life

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Cebu (Agenzia Fides) - "The truth must be at the basis of the law", the nation needs a law "to affirm and protect the truth about the dignity of the human person, who has been created in the very image of God, the sanctity of the family, the basic social unit which even our Constitution recognizes as the foundation of the nation": is what is said in an open Letter that the Filipino Bishops addressed today, December 12, to members of parliament of the Philippines, on the occasion of the vote on the "Reproductive Health Bill", which has reached the decisive vote of Congress. The letter, signed by His Exc. Mgr. Jose Palma, Archbishop of Cebu and President of the Episcopal Conference, which was received by Fides Agency, asked members of Congress to "respect the right to life, the right of married couples to found a family according to their religious and moral beliefs, and to be the primary educators of their children."
In the process of approval of a legislative measure, note the Bishops "it is not the law of the strongest that must prevail, but rather the strength of law." Nor, continue the Prelates citing Pope Benedict XVI, can there be an "arbitrary conduct on the part of the state," which imposes its morality. A law on an ethically sensitive issue as this "should be seen as something truly shared by all." And if citizens have rebelled, this is because "it is not perceived as an expression of justice, but as a product of despotism." The Reproductive health Bill is therefore to be rejected because "the Philippines need a law" to unite and not divide. "
Mgr. Jose Palma, invokes the special intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the Catholic pro-life movement, "whose feast-day we celebrate today," so that lawmakers "may be guided by the Holy Spirit", inviting, amidst the many voices trying to influence them, "do not be afraid" and to "obey God rather than men." (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2012)


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