Heaven help us

The pouring rain dampened the much-bandied Catholic show of force orchestrated by the bishops to vent their outrage on RH bill supporters. The sun and sunny dispositions were absent, just like a few thousand protesters. From an expected number of 50,000 faithful, only 5,000-10,000 showed up.

Estimates varied. Those who passed by the EDSA shrine that afternoon swear on a stock of bibles, that there couldn’t have been more than 2,000 wet ones there. Traffic wasn’t even snarled, but tempers were snarky. 

The windy air failed to cool down the mood of the officiators. Placards bore enigmatic messages: “Yes to saved sex; No to safe sex”, “Contraception is corruption”; “Kung walang anak, walang mahirap.” Huh? Are they speaking in tongues? What in heavens name do they mean? Pray tell.

Our prayer was heard as Henrietta de Villa read a fire and brimstone message from Archbishop Soc Villegas that attempted to shed light on the unintelligible messages. “My dear youth, contraception is corruption. The use of government money, taxpayers’ money to give out contraceptive pills is corruption. Contraceptive pills teach us it is all right to have sex with someone provided you are safe from babies. Babies are a nuisance…Contraception makes sex cheap. Artificial contraception could open the door for marital infidelity and a general lowering of standards.”

Should the bill pass Congress, it will produce an “abortion generation” according to Villegas. “A culture of contraception looks at babies as reasons for poverty. Birth control, they say, means more food, more classrooms, more houses and better health for mothers. If more babies are the cause of poverty, are we now saying ‘Kung walang anak, walang mahirap?”

The speech was so uncharacteristic of the usually logical, cogent, mild-mannered prodigy of the late Cardinal Sin. And it was also full of cause-and-effect fallacies. Once again one wonders what planet the Catholic hierarchy lives in? They seem to have a difficulty appraising reality. Or perhaps they haven’t noticed that in the Information Age, an iota of scientific data goes a long way.

One-way preaching from the pulpit with no interaction allowed is no longer acceptable. And just because it came from the mouth of a priest, doesn’t mean it’s 100 percent correct or true. History, and recent past have exposed the Catholic Church’s clay feet so many times. The Shepherd will quickly lose more of his flock by coercing them to behave like sheep, meekly accepting flawed arguments.

Here are the facts from DOH, WHO and UNFPA: 30 percent of annual pregnancies are teen pregnancies; 27 percent of women of reproductive age (WRAs) 15-24 years, lack correct RH information; 41 percent of teens are not even aware that they could get pregnant with their first intercourse (FHS).

Abortion is not being legalized in the proposed bill. But unwanted fetuses sliced off from their mother’s bellies and flushed down toilets are happening at an alarming rate. Infidelity is as old as Padre Damaso. Human folly has absolutely nothing to do with contraceptives and the RH Bill. One does not cause the other. It has been happening since time immemorial.

The worst canard is the preposterous idea that the RH bill is somehow anti-baby! What kind of warped proclamation is that? Responsible Parenthood is precisely to ensure that each Child of God is brought up with loving care. Let us ask all the street children, child laborers, child prostitutes and rugby kids if they ever felt cared-for by their parents.

Archbishop Luis Tagle said the Church has always been on the side of the downtrodden. “It is not true that the Church has no compassion for the poor. If others see the poor as statistics, the Church sees them as human beings. The poor are not numbers,” he said. He can only speak for himself. Because all these years that the Church had blocked attempts at legislation and stuck its nose into State affairs — it has washed its hands and not offered any sustainable solution to a burgeoning problem. 

The much-maligned HB 4244 aims to provide universal access and information on natural and modern family planning methods. It is meant to lessen the number of mothers and babies dying at childbirth. PhilHealth insurance fund will provide free contraceptives to those who ask and give the poor preferential access in state hospitals. Sex education would be taught in schools and to couples applying for a marriage license. How is that anti-life?

Then to add injury to insult, the bishop threatened the lawmakers who will vote for the bill, with losing in the 2013 elections — the ultimate bearing-of-false-witness! There is no shred of evidence that a Catholic bloc vote ever existed! And 7 out of 10 Filipinos support the RH bill.

Even if we give the Church the benefit of the doubt that they are just blissfully oblivious to the real world, it’s hard to turn the other cheek when they welcome their former benefactor in their ranks. Gloria Arroyo, who reigned for nine years and treated the national coffers like her own wallet, was never once censured by the bishops for alleged corruption. Some of them were even blessed as Mitsubishops.

El-Shaddai leader, Mike Velarde, chimed in: “Those who vote for the RH bill. You know what will happen. RIP.” And the chameleon politician JPE, Tito Sotto and re-electionist Gringo Honasan “graced” the occasion too.

The touted massive rally was a tempest in a teacup. Bishop Gabriel Reyes backpedaled as he admonished lawmakers to decide based on conscience and not on the “make or break” rally turnout. He added ominously that they will not punish lawmakers who will vote for the measure. But “we would remember who they are.”

Another bishop related the use of contraceptives as the reason why Western countries are becoming weak. And here we were thinking it was the global recession. Will we get excommunicated for questioning their specious arguments?

The Catholic Church needs prayers for enlightenment badly, or a Pentecostal visit from the Holy Spirit. Calling on heaven!

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