Filipino families already being destroyed, even before RH bill

In a recent interview with CBCP News, Jose Cardinal Sanchez, the eldest of the country’s three living cardinals, gave his thoughts about the RH bill.
He said that President Aquino was now “losing his popularity” and because of this, Congress would not be able to pass the bill. He then urged Catholic bishops to go on a charm offensive and befriend congressmen to win them over to the Church’s side in the RH debate. If he feels that the RH bill will not be passed because of Aquino’s waning popularity, why the need to win over the congressmen?

He also lamented that Aquino’s mother, together with his sisters, had more faith than the President. Does Aquino’s support for the RH bill translate into lack of faith in the Catholic Church? I find this too parochial, coming from a man of the cloth who has attained an esteemed position in the Church’s hierarchy.
The cardinal also criticized the President for not having a firm idea on marriage. Is he the father-confessor of Mr. Aquino?

I also cannot quite understand the cardinal’s statement that “it is too much politics now and no longer religion.” Can’t this accusation be flung at the cardinal himself?

Cardinal Sanchez suggested that the government should try improving the lot of Filipino families by increasing their income instead of “destroying” them, using the RH bill. Assuming that government succeeds in improving the lot of Filipino families, won’t the effects of increased income be diluted or negated when we end up having more children and mouths to feed and care for as a result of the Church’s ineffective birth rate control methods?

When the cardinal said “destroy,” did he mean abortion? The cardinal should be reminded that the RH bill is one with the Church in rejecting abortion. It is not the RH bill that will destroy the fabric of the Filipino family; the Church has been destroying the Filipino family through its obstinate stand against responsible parenthood. Living in squalor and miserable conditions, the poor are living examples of destroyed families.

Cardinal Sanchez fears that same-sex marriage, which has been approved in Brazil—the world’s largest Catholic country—may find acceptance here. Let’s deal with that when the time comes.

According to him, the RH bill is insignificant as far as the world’s problems are concerned. On the contrary, overpopulation in many parts of the world, including the Philippines, is a ticking bomb that can trigger social unrest and instability.

On the matter of fewer priests, we have fewer priests now, and not in 50 years’ time as the cardinal predicts. The Church should shoulder a bigger share in the cost of educating seminarians, instead of relying on benefactors. The cardinal mentioned tendencies that threaten to destroy the Catholic Church. These tendencies, while not primarily aimed at destroying the Church, will be exacerbated by the Church’s obstinate refusal to accept the fact that the world has indeed changed.

—APOLONIO G. RAMOS,
42 Mindanao St., Marikina City