February 3, 2010
A Personal Reflection on the Catholicism of a Nation with an Eighty Percent Catholic Population
Part I: The Philippine Reproductive Health Bill
“There are not over a hundred people [in the United States] who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church, which is of course, quite a different thing.” – Arch Fulton J. Sheen
The Catholic Church has always been consistent about her teachings. And the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome, does nothing other than to uphold it and make sure that the teachings of Christ continue to be the same and be proclaimed to the whole world through the Church. There are no new laws, no new teachings other than those that illumine what Christ have been teaching us from the very beginning of the Christian community. The responsibility of the clergy is the same as the Pope. To be a disciple of Christ is to be nothing more than to proclaim what He has revealed and proclaimed to us. This is what is to be remembered and be reminded of by all who claims that the Church is outdated, that it has to change in order to be more appealing, that it has to refrain from being blind to the modernization of society. To even think that the Church should change at all in terms of her beliefs on morality is simply a case of a mistaken identity bestowed upon a community that exists for the purpose of staying true and faithful to the founder.
Christians and non-Christians alike, who misunderstood what the Church is and what purpose she is serving always have a feast on judging the Church whenever a new attempt arises from the secular world and the so-called state to bring the Church into its knees and submit to it’s will when it should be the other way around.
Many, truly do not hate the Church. There are only those who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church.
In the Philippines, when the Reproductive Health Bill was introduced, or re-introduced I should say, with it’s clear intention of promoting contraceptives and controlling the population, the Church through the clergy and faithful lay Catholics in the Philippines confirmed and proclaimed what the Church has always believed about the dignity of human being and the importance of morality in the society when they expressed their concern about the attempt of the state to undermine the rights of the very citizens they are saying they want to serve, many have attacked the Church hoping to ostracize her but they have achieved nothing other than to display their true misunderstanding of the Church.
The Church in its attempt to stay true and faithful to Christ only defends the dignity of every human being. It is a responsibility that she has over all of humanity, Christian or not, as every mother has over their own child.
If that is what she has always been trying to do then why do we have this conflict with others? Apropos to all what the discussion has now become between it’s proponents and opponents, it is the difference in the definition of that dignity, I believe, is the root of the disagreement. To the proponents of the RH Bill the dignity lies in the freedom to engage in a sexual act without the worries of the consequences of the act, pregnancy. To be a responsible parent, as it seems, for them is to be able to defy the natural course of things through artificial means in order to continue engaging in an act that they believe is a right of every human being that shouldn’t be restrained or constrained by its consequences. Simply put, licentiousness. And it didn’t matter that the bill itself is not only redundant but it also violates the constitution of the Philippines. From the freedom of religion, the issue of abortion, and its attempt to transfer into their hands the power over decisions on family matters from the family. Unfortunately, many are more than willing to the point of actually handling it over on a silver platter. Not even a resignation or surrender but a willful handling over, begging for their rights and freedom to be taken.
Yes, this may not be the case they would say but the truth is many are misinformed. In the end, without all the masks the bill is trying to hide behind it is what it is. Knowing or unknowingly, supporting the RH Bill is handling over our rights and freedom to the state.
To be continued…
