Catholics in favor of RH bill, support Noynoy stand

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino received yesterday the support of Catholics backing the Reproductive Health Bill after he earned the ire of some Church leaders for his persistent campaign to approve the controversial measure in Congress.

Dr. Edelina de la Paz, spokesperson of the group Catholics for RH (C4RH), called the President “a good Catholic and Christian.”

Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, on the other hand, called Aquino “anti-Christian” for challenging the Church that he is willing to be excommunicated if that is what supporting the RH bill would entail.

“Bishop Oscar Cruz is out of line when he called our President anti-Christian. On the contrary, being pro-reproductive health and pro-quality of life makes him a good Catholic,” De la Paz said in a statement.

C4RH is an alliance of Filipino Catholics whose members come from different parts of the country and are pushing for the passage of the RH Bill.

Fr. Jerry Oblepias of Laguna also called the President “a bad Catholic.”

“I think that some Catholic leaders are abusing their religious authority by making irresponsible remarks that are embarrassing for me as a Catholic,” De la Paz said.

She said even lay Catholics have the right to speak their minds on matters that affect the people and the Church.

“Church law even states that at times it is even the duty of those who possess special knowledge or status to express opinions on matters that affect the church to our bishops and the rest of the faithful,” she said.

De la Paz is a medical doctor and faculty member of the UP College of Medicine.

“It is our hope that the President’s next pronouncement is to certify the RH Bill as urgent,” she said.

The RH bill, which seeks to promote artificial family planning and sex education among others, is still being debated in plenary at the House of Representatives.