MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) admitted on Thursday that they cannot impose their stance against divorce but remained firm that the Philippines should not join the “bandwagon” of legally dissolving marriages.
In a statement, the CBCP questioned why the country must follow the rest of the world in implementing an absolute divorce law.
READ: House approves divorce bill on final reading
“We are indeed the last country in the world that has not yet legalized civil divorce. Should we therefore join the bandwagon? Of course, we can, if we want to. Despite what religionists might think, we do have religious freedom in this country, and we uphold the principle of separation of Church and State,” it said.
“The Church is in no position to dictate [to] the State what is best for Filipino families. We know that our stubborn assertion that a genuine marriage cannot be dissolved, is not necessarily shared by all religions; and we respect that. But before we join the bandwagon, shouldn’t we ask ourselves on the basis of research and statistics, if the legalization of divorce all over the world has indeed helped in protecting the common good and the welfare of the family?” the CPCP asked.
The CBCP also questioned whether the state “really wants to make it easy” for married couples to separate when they “want out” or when they don’t “feel like it” anymore.
Furthermore, the religious group asked Filipinos to reflect on the times their parents fought and were tempted to call it quits, and to imagine the hardships they would have faced if divorce had been available during those times.
“While it is true that some marriages might indeed be beyond repair already, isn’t it just as true that going through times of marital crisis is almost a normal thing for all married couples and need not end too quickly in a parting of ways?” it added.
“Shouldn’t we also listen to the stories of couples that have crises related to their marital relationship and, after many years have looked back, realized that their bond had not been shattered? That it had actually been strengthened by the crises?” the group further said.
Nevertheless, the CBCP pointed out that they can only “propose but never impose” their take on the issue.
READ: Couples for Christ to gov’t: Don’t weaken marriage through divorce law
Last June 22, family-based ministry Couples for Christ (CFC) urged the government not to “weaken” marriages through the proposed divorce law and to focus instead on strengthening families.
In a manifesto, the group suggested that working rigorously on the implementation of the Philippine Family Code is a “more viable option” that can elevate Filipinos into law-abiding and emotionally stable citizens.