Rosales: Make moral values a poll issue

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales urged Filipinos the other day to closely examine the values of candidates in the May 2004 elections, particularly their stand on population control and the death penalty law.

Rosales remained steadfast in refusing to support any presidential candidate but said that he would endorse "qualities" that will guide voters in choosing the country’s next leaders.

The archbishop warned that those who could not resist "urges in the bedroom" would most likely be unable to keep from the temptation of pocketing money for themselves.

"Kung hindi mo kaya magpigil sa kama, iyung tukso ng isang bilyong piso hindi mo kayang tanggihan (If you cannot resist urges in the bedroom, you wouldn’t be able to refuse the temptation of a billion pesos)," Rosales said in an interview with "Talkback" program of ABS-CBN News Channel.

He said the people should use their innate goodness to do what is right to curb the country’s population growth rate, which has reached an alarming 2.36 percent last year, one of the highest in Asia.

Rosales said that birth control through the use of artificial methods "means no sacrifice, no cause, no suffering, no discipline" and goes against the teachings of the Church.

Similarly, the archbishop said that reimposing the death penalty defies the fundamental commandment of God not to take a man’s life.

To resort to capital punishment in an effort to instill peace and order in the country is a "sign of failure of the community," Rosales said.

"The very fact that you impose (the death penalty) is an admission of failure. It is an acceptance that our laws, our mores, our culture, our behavior could not sustain peace," he said.

The archbishop expressed distrust on the decision-making of government saying it is mired with self-interests and pressures from various groups.

He said he will issue a pastoral letter containing the "qualities" that voters should look for in candidates.

"We will do something better in the sense that we will motivate people, give them the reason why it can be done using the very values, principles, standards, compassion and the love of Jesus Christ," Rosales explained.

The archbishop opposes the involvement of religious groups in endorsing candidates, stressing that it is divisive and aggravates the situation in this "overly politicized" nation.

"When you talk of government it has restrictions and so with the Church but the inspiration and motivation of the Church are not political while all government decisions are somehow colored by interests," he said. – Ann Corvera