Morality can't be legislated - Rosales

MANILA, Philippines –  With the announcement of President Aquino that the Reproductive Health (RH) bill would be one of the priority bills of the Aquino administration, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales yesterday reminded the government that morality could not be legislated.

Cardinal Rosales said that while the selection of priority bills would depend on President Aquino, he reminded government officials that they could not dictate on the morals of their constituents.

“You don’t have to dictate on morals. Morals are guided of course by the Word of God, by the Lord Jesus Christ (but) it cannot be legislated…morally,” said Rosales.

As to news reports that President Aquino is willing to include a provision in the RH bill that would provide information on family planning methods that would not be forced on the people and even set up natural family planning centers, Rosales said he would rather “wait and see.”

He also mentioned that there is a continuing dialogue between representatives of the Catholic Church and Malacañang officials on how the reproductive health program of the government would be implemented.

Meantime, Rosales said the Filipinos’ adoration of Hollywood movies and its stars contributes much to the growing infidelity among married couples, live-in relationships and homosexual relationships.

Rosales said while he would agree that there is a rise in the cases of infidelity, live-in relationships and man-to-man relationships, these does not only happen in the Philippines but also in other countries.

“It is a significant phenomenon and the Philippines is just a follower. This is being peddled by Hollywood and the like,” said Rosales.

Many Filipinos are fond of watching American films that at times tell stories that belittle marriage vows and commitment.

He also attributed the poor treatment of marriage vows to the fact that many people have become materialistic.

“This is a product of the times, the materialism of the people. Pleasure and luxury have become important to people and in a sense these have became their new idol. What people are looking for nowadays is a new ‘god’ of pleasure, money, sensuality and sexuality. These are the new ‘gods,’” Rosales said.

The changing of the times has become a challenge to the Catholic Church.

“We have to, in a sense, give a new alternative. This is not how man should live. Man was not created for simple luxury, simple pleasures. Man was created in order to image the goodness and love of God, but these might have been forgotten,” he said.

The Cardinal, who graced the presentation meeting of the 2011 St. Paul National Bible Quiz yesterday, said there is a need to revive the people’s interest in the Bible.

Rosales said, “We should return to the Word of God so that we would see the values of the Word of God and not just rely on the culture of the people. There should be love, fear of the Lord and love for life.”

“I think slowly it can be done (because) before we were in that kind of a world. Others might say that this is no longer relevant, but time will come when our society has collapsed, we would return to the Lord,” the Cardinal added.

Meanwhile, in line with the celebration of Bible Week, there would be a continuous oral reading of scriptures called “I-proclaim” which would be held on Jan. 24 at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. 

I-proclaim is the continuous reading of the entire Bible that can be done in 15 minutes or an hour depending on how many people are assigned to read and how long are the allotted readings per person.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. would lead the roster of Bible readers.

Expected to participate are Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, Justice Raoul Victorino, inspirational speaker Bo Sanchez, newscasters Kata Inocencio, Alex Tinsay, Dodie Lacuna and Maloi Salumbides; National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) Bishop Nathanael Lazaro, Lighthouse Bible Bishop Reuben Abante, Dr. Dave Sobrepena of Word of Hope, Dr. Butch Belgica of the Lord’s Vineyard, Fr. Archie Guiriba of Shalom, Bishop Rene Mayugba of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (CBCP-ECBA), Jose Tale of Couples of Christ, Papuri singer Jonaver Luklukan, multi-awarded composer Jonathan Manalo, radio disc jockey Jordan Escusa, members of the clergy, non government organizations and sectoral groups.