Divorce bill good scapegoat for couples – CBCP

MANILA, Philippines - Contrary to what romance novel writers would want their readers to believe, there are no perfect marriages in the real world.

This was according to Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

In a statement titled “CBCP Position Against the Divorce Bill and Against the Decriminalization of Adultery and Concubinage,” Villegas said that while it is not easy to make relationships last, learning how to work out differences – and not resorting to divorce – is the answer.

“Marriage is and ought to be a work in progress. There is no such thing except in the limp imagination of mediocre, starry-eyed writers of romance novels as ‘a couple meant for each other’ or a man and a woman who are a ‘perfect match’. Matches are worked out on earth, not pre-fabricated in heaven,” he said.

He added that once divorce becomes a legal avenue for couples wanting out of marriage, their determination to make their relationship work would be lessened.

Divorce would be seen as a quick fix to their “incompatibilities,” said Villegas.

“A failed marriage is not an argument for divorce. It is rather a proof of the necessity that only mature people (should) enter into (marriage),” he said.

The CBCP president pointed out that there are enough legal remedies in the Family Code that a married person could employ, such as legal separation and annulment.

There is also Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act, he said.

Villegas noted that one of the most common reasons cited in a couple’s application for annulment is the psychological incapacity of a spouse to fulfill the obligations of marriage.

“In other words, the supposed suffering that a spouse must bear owing to a failed marriage is more imagined than real and comes only upon one who does not make use of the remedies already available under existing law,” he said.

Villegas also said that the government would be sending the wrong signal if it would decriminalize adultery and concubinage.

“Adultery and concubinage have been in our penal code not only for decades but for centuries now. Striking them off the catalogue of crimes (will) send the message to Philippine society that sexual liaisons and dalliances with persons other than one’s spouse are now allowed,” he said.