MANILA, Philippines -- Although opposed to abortion, Speaker Prospero Nograles objected to a bishop’s call to deny communion to politicians who believe otherwise.

“While I may agree with the archbishop that we should not legalize abortion, I really don’t agree that those who believe otherwise should be denied the right to receive the body of Christ through holy communion,” Nograles said on Monday.

Over the weekend, Ozamiz Archbishop Jesus Dosado issued a pastoral letter saying that Catholic politicians who push for abortion should not be allowed to receive Holy Communion because they are “in a situation of sin.”

But Nograles said: “We may vary in our beliefs but we are equal in the eyes of God.”

He also called on the Catholic church to respect the separation of church and state.

“Respect for each others’ belief is democratic space and we must respect separation of church and state, including political beliefs,” he said.

A bill seeking a mandatory reproductive health and sexual education, authored principally by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, has been pending at the House of Representatives and is up for second reading on the floor.

But Lagman has repeatedly explained that there is nothing in the bill that in anyway endorses or legalizes abortion in the country.