Church goes online in drive against measure

MANILA, Philippines—The Catholic Church and its allies against the reproductive health (RH) bill have taken the fight from the pulpits to the Internet, launching on Wednesday an online portal of resources on pertinent issues on family and life.

The portal is a trove of information, containing not only the magisterial teachings of the Church and sermons of the clergy but also independent position papers, as well as scientific and medical documents that back its stand against the legislative measure. It can be accessed through www.cbcpforlife.com.

“The war against life, at least 85 percent of it, happens on the Internet, not on radio, television or print,” Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, media director of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said at the launch.

According to Quitorio, the Church and like-minded groups thought of tapping the Internet because it reaches millions of readers in an instant, compared to the other media—print, radio and television—which get through to people only by the hundreds of thousands.

“The Internet is where the youth is …,” said Eilleen Esteban, president of the Youth Pinoy, an arm of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Youth. “The portal is a very useful database for us if we want to make enlightened decisions on the issue.”

Online databank

Dubbed “CBCP for Life,” the portal was initiated by the CBCP Media Office in collaboration with other institutions, groups and individuals who saw the need for an “online databank” of multimedia resources that would help Filipinos make wise decisions on the RH bill.

The website also contains a digital copy of the legislative measure that espouses early sex education and the use of artificial contraceptives, among others, and a blow-by-blow account of the ongoing debates in the House of Representatives.

The site also features a gallery of video, photo, audio and PowerPoint files containing salient points against the RH bill pending in the House.

“We made the files downloadable so that those who want to hold a talk or seminar on family and life can use our materials,” Quitorio said.

While archiving, documenting and data-banking are the website’s prominent features, it also has a pool of volunteer journalists, bloggers, podcasters and social network users who have pledged to submit news stories and features on life and the family on a regular basis.

The raging debate on the RH bill, which seeks to promote sex education from Grade 5 and provide information on methods of contraception to couples who wish to plan their families, has generated tension between the government and Church officials.

The Church hierarchy recently terminated its dialogue with Malacañang on the RH bill but distanced itself from those within its ranks calling for civil disobedience.

Extension of pulpit

Msgr. Juanito Figura, CBCP secretary general, said the Internet was “an extension of the pulpit” and “just one of the contemporary avenues on which the Church can continue to teach and preach.”

He also said the website would show that aside from the Church hierarchy, there were other voices, not exactly members of the Church, wanting to be heard in protest of the RH bill.

Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, who is among the lawmakers opposed to the bill, said the use of the Internet to inform people on the measure was a welcome development because it was the fastest and cheapest means to dispense and get information.

Magsaysay said that while the Internet had been swamped with the pro-RH advocacy, pertinent information supporting the opposite view must also be made available to the people “so that they will have the power of discernment and they will really be enlightened.”