To oppose the Reproductive Health bill now being debated in the Senate is to give the Blessed Virgin Mary a beautiful birthday present.
This was the message of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma at Mass following yesterday’s Walk for Mary, a procession to celebrate in advance the Sept. 8 birthday of Mary.
“If we fight against RH bill, we will make Mama Mary happy,” said Palma, incoming president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is honored by several Christian denominations as the mother of Jesus Christ and a patron saint of purity.
“We should believe in the values of the church than succumb to the values of the world,” the archbishop told a congregation of around 2,000 people.
Palma, who celebrated Mass outdoors near a statue of Blessed John Paul II said the faithful should uphold church doctrines which are founded on divine truths.
“There are non-negotiable doctrines in the Catholic Church that need to be preserved,” he said.
He said the archdiocese will organize more activities to strengthen opposition to the bill.
“Not so many people are aware of the implications of the bill,” Palma said in an interview.
“Our rally is for people to know the truth.”
The Catholic Church opposes many provisions in the bill especially those promoting artificial contraception and early sex education for children.
Catholics walked from the Fuente Osmeña rotunda to the Archbishop’s Residence yesterday dawn in the annual Walk for Mary.
The event was organized by the church group Children of Mary.
Charise Malinao, Children of Mary president for the archdiocese said the procession was an avenue for Catholic families to remember Mary’s holiness.
The Reproductive Health bill is being deliberated by senators. Sen. Vicente Sotto III who is against the bill recently asked for a list of the groups lobbying for the bill, while two senators, Miriam-Defensor Santiago and Pia Cayetano are advocating the bill’s passage into law. /Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter