Ozamiz bishops threatens to excommunicate ‘anti-life’ solons
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:09:00 07/29/2008
Filed Under: Legislation, Family planning
MANILA, Philippines—Lawmakers pushing for the passage of the reproductive health bill in Congress may be barred from taking Holy Communion, the archbishop of Ozamiz City insisted on Tuesday.
Archbishop Jesus Dosado, who generated controversy recently for his pastoral letter threatening to deny communion to alleged pro-abortion politicians, said lawmakers in favor of the reproductive health bill pending in Congress could suffer the same penalty.
“I extend it to people legislatively for reproductive health,” he said in a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday.
While the reproductive health bill, which is pending in Congress, does not legalize abortion, a grievous sin according to the Church, the proposed law will open the floodgates to other types of anti-life acts, Dosado said.
“The bill hides many things. It doesn’t mandate abortion but there are things that are hidden in it that would lead eventually to abortion,” he said.
Dosado and other members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed concern over a number provisions, such as mandatory sex education, the widespread distribution of artificial contraceptives, and the classification of artificial contraceptives as essential medication.
Dosado also opposed the provision allowing minors access to reproductive health services without parental consent and the inclusion of reproductive health services in collective bargaining agreements and in insurance policies.
These provisions, Dosado said, cloaked the bill’s alleged anti-life intentions.
“We have to be not ambiguous with our wording. That is what we object about the bill,” he said.
Asked if he could think of any politician who stands to face the Church’s ire, Dosada declined to name them, saying they were under the jurisdiction of other bishops.
But if there were a politician in his jurisdiction who refuses to heed the Church’s position against the reproductive health bill, he would be barred from taking the Eucharist in his diocese, Dosado said.
Last year, Dosado said he had discussed the matter with the Ozamiz representative, who made it clear that she did not support the bill, which has cleared the committee level and is calendared for floor debates.
He noted that other bishops could follow his example, but it depends on their prerogative.
Dosado reminded Catholic politicians that they cannot not run away from their responsibility to the Church.
He said a bishop could sanction a member of the flock “depending on the character (i.e., degree, duration, etc.) of one’s support to pro-abortion legislat(ion).”
“Such activity can be sufficient basis for ecclesiastical officials to prohibit a specific person from approaching Holy Communion under Canon 915," he said.
In a pastoral letter issued last Sunday called ”On Worthy Reception of Communion by Politicians,” Dosado said Catholic legislators must follow the Church teachings when they dispense with their legislative duties.
“Christian life, or life based on the teachings of Christ as entrusted to the apostles, is the affirmation of life, and especially the affirmation of the new life in Christ. This new life in Christ flows from the Eucharist,” he said.
“Consequently, Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of their grave responsibility before society, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature,” the Ozamiz prelate added.
“Let us pray then for our legislators so that they may be enlightened,” Dosado said.
Meanwhile, the CBCP greeted tepidly the President’s statement of support for natural family planning in her State of the Nation Address on Monday.
Asked to comment on the President’s speech, Dosado only said, “Good for her. What she should do should be according to the natural law."
He declined to say anything more on the speech, saying he was not a political man.
Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said it was a positive step that the President promoted natural family planning, but she needed to do more.
To show that she is sincere, Arguelles said the President should explicitly oppose the Philippine Legislators Council for Population and Development, the umbrella group of lawmakers and private organizations lobbying for a national reproductive health policy.
“Reproductive health bills really mean abortion,” he said in an interview aired on the Catholic Church’s Radio Veritas.
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