The issue of the Reproductive Health Bill or RH Bill has been heating up again. What with President Noynoy Aquino seemingly back to support the RH Bill again, and as expected the Catholic church not backing down from opposing it. Oi, who would ever have thought that Reproductive Health would be of a priestly concern? For me, it would be like me promoting sex with a female... irrelevant... disjunct... does not compute. But well, things happen. So the church and the RH Bill have headlined Yahoo! news today... not just once, but twice!
Some Priests are Pro-RH Bill - Bishop
The Catholic Church does not have the unified support of all its members when it comes to the issue of the Reproductive Health Bill, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) disclosed today.
Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, chairman of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL), revealed that there are some priests who are pro-RH bill.
“Well, in the Church, there’s a space for dissent also… Even the 10 commandments, there are many who disobey it, right?” Aniceto said in an interview. “We leave it to their conscience. We respect that. But majority are not in favor. I think, in their own moral and theological discernment, we should respect them for that.”
He said these priests have maintained anonymity although some bishops are aware of their dissenting positions.
Aniceto believes that these priests are only misguided or are lacking sufficient knowledge about the provisions of the bill.
My thoughts? "I respect your views, but you're misguided." LOL! Ironic much!
Filipino Cardinal Urges Charm Offensive but Hits President's Lack of Faith
Take it from someone who has walked the corridors of power at the Vatican. Saying that Philippine President Benigno Aquino III was now "losing his popularity", Jose Cardinal Sanchez, the oldest among the country's three living cardinals, has urged Catholic bishops to go on a charm offensive and befriend congressmen to win them over in the reproductive health (RH) bill debate.
Sanchez, 91, also lamented in an interview with CBCP News that President Aquino's mother (the late President Corazon Aquino) and his sisters had "more faith than him".
"He is now losing his popularity. He has no firm idea on marriage. It is too much politics now and no longer religion. (His) mother (the late former President Corazon Aquino) and (his) sisters have more faith than him," said Sanchez, who once oversaw the diocesan priests around the world as prefect of the Vatican Congregation on the Clergy.
Hiking Filipinos' income: Sanchez said that the government should try to improve the lot of Filipino families by increasing their income instead of "destroying" them by pushing for the RH bill.
But with the President losing his popularity, Sanchez said that Congress would not be able to pass the bill. And a charm offensive could help.
Sanchez recalled that when he was once a bishop assigned in Bicol, he was a "friend to all the congressmen" so it was easy for him to confront them when a proposed law contradicted church doctrine.
"If there are bills contradictory to the Catholic teachings, I would go to these congressmen one by one to enlighten them with the Catholic teachings and they would easily agree with me. And as friends, they would find it hard to go against the bishop," Sanchez said.
However, he admitted that it would be harder to do this now since many lawmakers today are non-Christians.
What next? Sanchez said he came back to the country from Rome to ward off the "tendencies that threaten to destroy the Catholic Church."
He said he was worried that same-sex marriage, which he said had been approved in Brazil - the world's largest Catholic country - might also be "accepted" later in the Philippines.
"I did not come here to fight the RH Bill. I came here to protect the Catholic doctrine. (The RH bill) is insignificant as far as the problems of the world are concerned. But I'm happy that it is being faced seriously by the Philippine Church," Sanchez said.
He said that if the Church fails to reverse these "tendencies" that threaten the Church, there would be fewer priests in the country in 50 years' time.
"The world is changing, and the evil doesn't stop. I hope the Philippines will remain a Christian country. But I know the (Filipino) Christians are not sleeping, they keep on fighting," Sanchez said.
My thoughts? Government increase Filipino families' income how? Perhaps if we begin collecting taxes from the church, hmmm. And it's nice know that the cardinal spilled the beans. So the church is only concerned about the Catholic doctrine and about there being less priests in 50 years. So they really aren't out to care for the people... sigh. Huhuhu... hu.
Let me end with this picture...
LOL! Just quit the intercourse of the church with the state, okay? Abstinence to you!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Intercourse of the Church
Monday, April 18, 2011
Noynoy Risks Ire on RH Bill
President Benigno Aquino III pledged on Sunday to push for the passage of a reproductive health bill in Congress as a tool to fight poverty even at the risk of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.
Efforts to enact a law that would promote access to sex education and contraception have been blocked since the 1990s by powerful Roman Catholic bishops. Around 80 percent of the country's 94 million people are Catholic.
"I remain committed to push the passage of a law for responsible parenthood," Aquino told graduates of the country's premier state university.
"I know there are those who oppose it. At risk of excommunication, it is my obligation as leader to explain my principles to them, even if their minds are already closed. But, in the end, I must listen to my conscience and do what is right."
Last year, Catholic bishops denied threatening to impose canonical sanction against the president due to his plans but reminded him to consider church's position.
The bishops said some forms of contraception were tantamount to abortion. Abortion is illegal in the Philippines.
Aquino has indicated support for the bill, raising hopes it could be passed, but the measure was not on a list of priority bills submitted to Congress.
During his speech, Aquino spoke of meeting an unemployed 16-year-old boy with two children. He said:
"How will they feed their children when they have no jobs? Who is to blame for their situation? How did such responsibility fall on them? More importantly, how can I help them?"
The church says tackling corruption would do more to reduce poverty than slowing population growth. The Philippines has one of the region's highest rates of maternal deaths -- an average of 11 women a day die giving birth.
Foreign missions and international agencies have been urging the Philippine government to adopt a reproductive health legislative framework as an anti-poverty strategy.
The European Union has also called for the passage of a maternal health law, saying slower population growth would improve health and lower poverty. It has promised $50.5 million health package to raise contraceptive usage in low-income, rural communities.
Source:
ABS-CBN News
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Know, No, No
With the recent barrage of news items about HIV and AIDS, and just from one news program of one particular network, it’s sort of like it was unofficially declared to be HIV and AIDS Awareness Week. From Thursday in the last week of January, to Wednesday in the first of February, news on HIV has been a daily thing. Wonderful, supposedly, if they were accurate. But then of course, such hasn’t been the case so far. And so now, I’m back, and with more from them and for them.
In this report from Maricar Bautista, with the Valentine season comes the trend of speed dating. Speed dating is a type of event which strikes me as something like the Trip-to-Jerusalem of dating, without the elimination part of course. So girls get to spend a short amount of time with each of the guys at the event, and vice versa, all in the search of a potential match. Cute story, but then it gets linked again to the risk of HIV.
Speed dating and HIV? Wow. Not immediately a clear connection, to me at least. Clearly, based on the exact words of Dr. Eric Tayag of the DOH, it’s clear that it’s unprotected sex that poses the risk. So why link specific events as speed dating to HIV? So what is it about speed dating anyways? Is it the speed that exposes you to the risk of HIV? Yes, having to pose that question makes me giggle. Really, if you think about it, no matter how fast or slooooow you date, or how many you date, if when it comes to sex, you protect yourself, then you cut the risk significantly.
And no, it isn’t even about doing it with strangers. Because even if you know everything about someone, we have to remember that many of those who are infected with HIV do not even know that they are. Neither can you tell from how a person looks, who is HIV-positive or now. It’s just not safe to assume that everyone knows their own HIV status accurately. Look at it this way: Opt to play safe, whether it’s with a stranger, or with your twin brother.
In this report by Joey Villarama, what bugs me is the sweeping statement of Ferchito Avelino of the Philippine National AIDS Council saying the trends are effects of changing norms, technology, and the transformation of the Filipino family. For me, it’s not the changing norms, but the norms themselves. It's the so-called “norms” that have been in existence in our conservative culture that have sheltered sex and related topics under a thick blanket of taboo, preventing people from a guided understanding of the topic. Was this guy really from PNAC, or was he from the Catholic Church?
The report goes on to say that most of those who have gotten infected with HIV, are men who have had sex with men. But on the contrary, in the visual that accompanied that part, the 55% of infections attributed to men who had sex with women was greater. Again, this is news, and accuracy should be key.
And then it ends with CBCP spokesman Msgr. Pedro Quitorio again blaming the internet for destroying the morality of our youth. He calls for the youth to be alarmed, informed, and involved in finding a solution to the problem. Vague as that statement was, so why then is the Catholic Church pressuring against sex education and the reproductive health bill? Can you blame the youth for learning about sex from the internet? Answer me that, Father.
In this report of Jay Ruiz, HIV poster boy, Wanggo Gallaga, comes back out and also blames the internet for making finding sex easier. Fine, I’ll attest to that fact, being an avid fan of gay personals sites as well. But then again, isn’t it about playing safe, no matter how easy it is to find a playmate? The truth is, these same personals sites that are said to encourage hooking up, do have resources talking about safer sex. But in a culture that doesn’t know or believe that HIV is here, or that believes that one can tell by looks whether one does or doesn’t have HIV, do you wonder why people don’t click on the safe sex tabs as readily?
And with due respect to Wanggo, again, it’s not about how well you know the person you’re going to sleep with. Could it be that a partner you’ve been with and known for years might not know that he is HIV positive? And could it be that you might need to get tested as well? The question is not how well you know a person. The question is how well that person knows himself, specifically his HIV status. And the bigger question even, is how well you know yourself, specifically your own HIV status. Everyone must get tested, and must know their HIV status, and must protect themselves accordingly. Protect themselves, because HIV is not the only thing out there.
Kapamilya... please don’t jump on the HIV bandwagon just for the sake of a scoop. People do need to know, but they need to know what is right. Don’t forget your motto, Panig sa Katotohanan, Panig sa Bayan. Really, can true news exist without accuracy?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Prophet-lactics
I’ve kept quiet about it long enough. But I can only take so much nonsense. Go ahead. Call me seditious. Call me an atheist. Call me whatever you frickin' want. May lightning even strike me right now, just based on the thoughts running through my head.
A bit O.A.? Okay, just let me say my piece.
The Catholic Church has been at it again. Pope Benedict, on a visit to Africa, boldly says that encouraging the use of condoms aggravates the problem of HIV and AIDS, rather than helping contain the virus. WTF?!
And I said "again", because I’d already heard something to that effect last year, from our very own Catholic Church here in the Philippines. In articles on the website of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines or CBCP entitled CBCP Hasn’t OK’d Condom Use for HIV/AIDS Patients and Church: Condoms Don’t Stop AIDS, Fr. Melvin Castro says there is no directive from the Vatican that married couples infected with HIV and those with AIDS can use condoms. He also goes on to say that the claim that condoms can reduce the number of HIV-infected persons is a "myth".
Whoa?! No one ever said that condom use is a cure to HIV. It will not reduce the number of HIV-infected persons. What it can reduce is the number of HIV-infections. What’s that supposed to be? A play of words? Hmm.
The CBCP follows up with statements backing claims that condoms are permeable. And when the DOH says those claims are untrue, Fr. Castro once again speaks up saying "They are wrong about that... this is an easily recognizable fact". An easily recognizable fact?! An easily recognizable fact just like immaculate conceptions, walking on water, and turning water into wine?! Okay, I know, that was below the belt, but shouldn’t we all be wary of making sweeping statements? Hmm.
I’m just absolutely dumbfounded at how the Catholic Church can make statements such as these. What’s the real issue with condoms anyway? What do these prophets have against prophylactics? Is it some tool of the devil? Hmm.
They probably think it encourages sex outside the context of marriage and all that immoral stuff. But how come even married couples aren’t allowed to use condoms to keep the uninfected partner safe? Hmm.
Oh yeah, they probably think it breaks the link between sex and procreation. So does this mean that they are willing to sacrifice their followers’ health and well-being just for the sake of procreation? Hmm.
But then, two guys fucking can only bring themselves as far as pagdadalang-tae. So as far as I’m concerned, I’ve never been in any sexual act that could result in any procreation whatsoever. Geesh, we’re still not allowed to use condoms? Hmm.
Of course, that just brings us to the subject of homosexuality being a sin. Yeah, right. Why doesn’t that ever ring a bell whenever the priest at my local parish ogles and flirts at me whenever he’s not in church or wearing his habit? Hmm.
The Pope and the CBCP then both agree that marital fidelity and sexual abstinence are the only failsafe ways of preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS. Clap, clap, clap. One question though... Is this the same fidelity and abstinence that some men of the cloth themselves forget about, causing them to father kids, make sexual advances, abuse women, and molest children? Hmm.
So at this point, I still don’t understand why the Catholic Church is so against condom use, and reproductive health in general. I’m completely aware that I’m walking the fine line between righteousness and blasphemy... but only in the same way that the Catholic Church walks the fine line between spirituality and self-righteousness.
So I say, go ahead. May he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Oh God!
I was pleased to receive a message from Y this morning. Remember him? The guy I met at the HIV ward? After exchanging a few messages, he ended saying “Give thanks to the Lord for everything you have.” He’s not the first person who’s indirectly told me to seek the help of The Higher Being for what I’m going through right now. So I ask myself, should I suddenly be more God-fearing because I am not well?
I am not an atheist. I am Roman Catholic, and was brought up to believe in God. I studied in a Catholic school run by Dominican priests. I even served as an acolyte in more than a handful of masses. I do believe in God.
Throughout my life, I've prayed a lot. I usually pray to Him for strength and clarity. I pray that he allow me to muster up the guts to face my fears. I pray to Him to bless the people I love. I have even prayed to Him to take me, during times that I was down.
But I know why he created me. And I know why He keeps me here. It’s not my destiny to be happy. It’s my purpose in life to make others happy. I’m here to be used by others. I’m here to please. I’m here to make life better for others. I’m here to take all the crap.
I know it makes my life sound so pathetic, but I’m honored to be given this responsibility. I make people smile. I make them laugh. I give them physical pleasure. I make them feel good about themselves. I make them feel loved. I make them happy. That’s what I feel God wants me to do. And that’s what makes me happy. Pleasing others.
But I’m not religious. I repeat, NOT religious. I do not pray every night. I do not pray before and after meals. I do not go to church every Sunday. Not even now that I got infected with HIV. My relationship with Him is still as before. I know I’m still blessed. I have a lot going for me in spite of this. I’m happy that I can still make people happy.
Believing in God is one thing, but the Catholic Church is a whole other dimension in itself. In this predominantly Christian country, mainstream Catholicism comes along as too self-righteous. And there’s no better example of that, than the way it frowns on homosexuals. The way they try to turn people like me straight and lead them to the “right path”.
How can I support people who discourage the exact being of who I am? Who are they to turn their backs on someone who He created in His own likeness? Are they saying that God made a mistake when He created me?
“I believe in God”… but omit the part about “the Holy Catholic Church”. Until they learn to accept and respect every living creature on the face of the earth, they’re misinterpreting the Word of God.
God loves us all!
