The war of words over contraception is heating up — and in a way that might surprise Catholics in the western world. Could you imagine a threat like this being issued by bishops in the United States?
Raising the ante against the use of contraceptives Roman Catholic bishops yesterday warned of “civil disobedience” against the administration should President Benigno C. Aquino III fulfill a promise to hand out artificial birth control methods.
In a statement posted yesterday at the Web site of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the bishops said mass action against the government “is an option that can be considered” by the Church.
The statement quoted several bishops and priests as saying that the Church has the moral authority to teach and lead the faithful based on the religious organization’s teachings.
“The Catholic Church in the Philippines can do that [civil disobedience] if it decides to do that because for one thing, civil disobedience is a moral option, one of the moral options,” said Monsignor Juanito S. Figura, CBCP secretary-general.
Explaining the basis of civil disobedience, Mr. Figura said while Church principles state civil allegiance to state laws, “… if a law or a state policy is against Christian teachings, persons, Christians, Catholics are not bound by conscience to obey that.”
He identified the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill and the distribution of artificial contraceptives to justify civil disobedience.
Malacañang has announced last week that it is willing to hold a dialogue with the Catholic leaders on the issue.
Mr. Figura has welcomed the dialogue but said the bishops “have not received any communication so far.”
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