I believe in God, the Father Almighty. I believe in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I am however losing faith in the Catholic Church.
The recent statements and actions of the CBCP regarding the Reproductive Health Bill and President Aquino’s support for it have me at a loss. It seems that while most of us are struggling to go forward the Church is moving backwards. The Church thinks that we’re still in the medieval times.
We are a nation of close to a hundred million people. It’s true that most of us are Catholics. There are others who aren’t. Why must they be subjected to the whims of a religion that they do not believe in?
The Church seems to have forgotten that there is a separation of Church and State. The Church should not dictate or interfere with the affairs of the government. Especially since not all Filipinos are Catholic. All Filipinos however deserve a government that will put their interests at heart and will provide them all that is required to have better lives. Contraceptives included.
The government must look after all its citizens. It must provide them basic services such as education, shelter and health. The RH Bill provides tools necessary to safe guard the health of women. It also provides them choice. I think that it’s the right of every individual to choose. That’s where the Church should come in.
Instead of meddling in the affairs of government the Church should spend its energy and resources tending to its flock. The Church is the moral compass of its followers. They should ensure that they are educating their members as to what is right and wrong based on their religious beliefs. The members can then decide for themselves if they will avail of the tools being provided by government.
The Church is neglecting its duty of educating its flock and instead it’s just threatening the government and hindering it from doing its job. As such it is also robbing other people of their right to choose. The Church is imposing its belief and values by default to other people.
I honestly think that the Church is imposing its might on the government because it’s easier than going out and educating its followers. It’s easier to rule with an iron fist than to take the time and educate its members. By doing so it’s actually turning off a lot of people. I personally am losing my respect for the leaders of our Church.
The country is facing a problem of a growing population. Everyone knows it except the leaders of the Church. They say it’s not a problem. The children begging for food in the streets beg to differ. We may be an agriculturally rich country but the government lacks resources to fully utilize that and it will take time before we can fully support our population. While we may have natural resources, we’re still a long ways off in being able to fully utilize it. In the mean time people are suffering.
It’s easy for the Church leaders to say we don’t have a population problem. They’re not the ones going hungry. They are well funded and well fed. They have beds to sleep in and food on the table. While they see and work with the poor, poor they are not.
We have a population problem. The government should do something about that. We need to control our growth and make sure that we can support our population. The RH Bill is the right step towards that. Let’s face it, we cannot tell people not to have sex. The Church can’t guarantee that. So we should educate our citizens and give them the tools in order to practice safe and responsible sex.
I appeal to the Church leaders. Stop politicking and start tending to your flock. If the Church educates its members well then even if they were given condoms and contraceptives freely they will still make the right choice based on their beliefs.
If the Church continues on its course of dictating and threatening our government officials, they will lose in the end. They will lose followers because people will respect them less.
I applaud President Aquino for his stand. He understands that he is the President of all Filipinos and not just Filipinos who are Catholic. In the face of threats he is standing by his belief that he should govern for all and not just some.