CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma renewed his call for people not to support the Reproductive Health (RH) bill during a gathering of more than 1,000 Marian devotees yesterday morning at his residence.
The statement was issued at the mass he concelebrated with six priests after the “Walk for Mary” procession, an annual activity conducted at the Church celebration of the Virgin Mary’s birthday on Sept. 8.
Palma said that by the time he starts his term as Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president by December this year, his stand on the controversial bill will not change.
During his homily, Palma said that while onboard a plane he watched a mother take care of her two children. The older one kept playing despite his mother’s order for him to sit and fasten his seatbelt.
“Finally, the mother asked her child. Do you want to make me happy? The child said yes and then the mother said it would make her happy if he sat down and fastened his seat belt. Almost immediately, the child sat down and fastened his seat belt,” said Palma.
“We can make Mother Mary happy if we are pro-life, if we follow the values of the Lord than succumb to the values of the world,” he said.
No change
In an interview, Archbishop Palma said with the change in the CBCP administration, the people should not expect any change in the Church’s stand on the RH bill, or the Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011.
“In principle, we would like the people to know that there are non-negotiable doctrines in the Catholic Church,” he told reporters after the mass.
“People think that when there is a new administration, we are free to apply doctrine according to our caprices. These are doctrines are founded on divine truths. People should not expect that there would be changes,” he said.
In January this year, the CBCP issued a pastoral letter against the RH bill, saying it is against moral principles and it tends toward population control and the use of public funds for contraceptives.
Palma said protest rallies conducted by pro-life groups are not meant to pick a fight with those who support the RH bill.
“The nature of the rally is for greater awareness and advocacy. We would like to make people aware that the nature of such a rally is not to fight the other party but to tell the truth,” he said.
He said the issues surrounding the Church’s opposition to the bill are more than the mere immoral use of contraceptives.
“Is this (population control) the only way to look at our resources? How much would you spend for condoms rather than for education? How much help is given to people?” said Palma.
“These are issues that are not made known as regards the implication of the
contraceptives. Like in other nations, they were making laws that had no benefit for the people,” he said.
