CEBU, Philippines - The Episcopal Vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu Msgr. Esteban Binghay agreed with the statement of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines that divorce is not an answer to a failing marriage.
CBCP executive director Fr. Melvin Castro said that the proposed House Bill 1799 or the Divorce Bill, will only weaken the sanctity of marriage and at the same time threaten the moral preservation of the Filipino family. This was echoed by Binghay saying that with divorce, family stability will be destroyed and the third victim are the children, who will be greatly affected.
“Divorce is not an answer to failing, it even multiplies more problems. The third victim is the children and the wives themselves, they don’t know why they made a divorce,†Binghay said.
“There is no end to it. Our family stability madaot gyud hasta pod ang atong family life,†he added.
He said that there are many ways to solve a failing marriage in the Philippines, divorce may be the easiest way but this will make things even more complicated.
“The parties themselves when they remarry, they might have another problem, and this may lead to another divorce na pod. That’s why there is no end to it,†Binghay explained.
Binghay reiterated that if they fought against the passage of the RH Bill, there is no reason why they will not also fight against the passage of the Divorce Bill.
“Babagan gihapon sa Simbahan ang passing of the said bill and the other proposed bills that is against the morality of the Church,†he said.
Castro said divorce will only further weaken the institution of marriage and family since the latter are already threatened from within.
As stated in the CBCP News, Castro belied claims of pro-divorce groups that the legalization of the measure will empower battered spouses and give them more legal options to solve their marital dilemmas.
He reiterated that there are already laws protecting women and children against violence and abuse and clarified that divorce does not stop abuse. He added that with the divorce, one just simply ends the relationship but the violent person could go on doing more violence against the other person. —/BRP (FREEMAN)