Church remains firm against divorce—CBCP

Senator Francis Escudero and Senator Aquilino Pimentel III

The Roman Catholic Church remained opposed to divorce, a Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines official declared Thursday as he reminded married couples that marriage was a life-long commitment.

Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, issued the statement in reaction to Senator Pia Cayetano’s call for renewed deliberations on the pending divorce bill.

“We should protect the sanctity of marriage, as marriage is a life-long commitment. Any marital problem cannot be solved by divorce. What will solve it is finding the root cause of the problem,” Castro told reporters.

Cayetano had said that it was “high time” that discussions on the divorce bill were restarted following public disclosures by two fellow senators, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, that they had ended their marriages.

Castro, however, said there was no need to legislate or enact a law on divorce. He pointed out that the state, under the Constitution, was mandated to protect marriage, which means that the government should “strengthen” the institution.

Castro advised couples undergoing a marital crisis: “Seek perfection in marriage. Do not seek a perfect husband nor wife nor a perfect marriage.” Jerome Aning