The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will be forming a ministry in each diocese that would tackle the issue of same-sex attraction.
The ministry will explain to its flock the Church’s established stand on the importance of marriage as between a man and a woman, and not between two individuals of the same gender.
Daet Bishop Gilbert Garcera, chair of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, made the announcement during a two-day symposium on same-sex attraction at the Pope Pius XI Catholic Center in Paco, Manila.
The conference, titled “Living the truth in love: Pope Francis and persons with same-sex attraction” also aimed to “shepherd persons with same-sex attraction in the Philippine context.”
“Our main objective is to make it clear to the public that the Church’s stand is on matrimony, the importance of one’s identity and to listen to the life-changing stories of our brothers and sisters who were attracted to the same sex,” Garcera said in an interview on the Church-run Radio Veritas.
“What is important for our dioceses is that we have a response to same-sex attraction… who will be taken care of by our parishes and dioceses,” Garcera said.
Respect
He added that the “Amoris laetitia,” an apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis, was clear in stating that those with same-sex attraction should be “respected as humans, guided in their weaknesses and should not be condemned.”
“This is not an illness or problem in a sense. What is needed is to accompany these people, especially in their human weakness,” he said.
“Dioceses over the Philippines will help assist them in the sense of welcome, in the sense of integration, in the sense of understanding and a sense of accompaniment for these people,” Garcera said.
The Radio Veritas report also cited a May 2015 Laylo Research Strategies survey which showed that seven out of 10 Filipinos are opposed to legalizing same-sex marriages.