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DZRV – Radyo Veritas 846 khz
Exclusive Interview withHis Excellency BishopArchbishop Broderick PabilloAuxillary Bishop, Archdiocese of ManilaJuly 16, 2008 – Wednesday – 07:50amQ: Sabi po ng mga nagtutulak ng reproductive health bill kaya raw po tayo mahihirap kasi hindipinapaygan ng simbahan na magkaroon ng access sa pill, IUD at condom ang mga kababaihan atmga kalalakihan tama po ba?A: Alam niyo ho ang problema natin ay kahirapan ay tugunin natin yung kahirapan at angkahirapan ay maraming mga problema kahit na kokonti tayo kung talagang walang trabaho yungtao, tumataas yung presyo ng mga pagkain kung may korapsiyon e mahirap pa din tayo, so huwagnating sisihin yung populasyon at sa totoo lang ang nagbibigay sa atin ngayon ng tulong sa atingbansa ay ang mga tao natin yung ating human resources, yang pinag-mamalaki natin na sa mgaservices magaling tayo so yan ay ibig sabihin mga tao ay mga resources, so huwag nating tingnanang mga tao bilang problema bilang gastos, kaya kung problema ay kahirapan tugunin natin yungkahirapan, ano ba ang ugat ng mga kahirapan, yun nga walang trabaho ang tao, mataas yungmga presyo, kulang sa edukasyon, yan ang dapat nating bigyan ng pansin. Q: Sabi po ng mga nagtutulak ng reproductive health bill coercion daw po ang ginagawa ngsimbahan sa ginagawa nitong kampanya para tutulan yung panukalang batas na iyon?A: Paano maging coercion, nagiging coercion kapag mayroon na yung batas, laging pipiplitanka ng batas, itong ginagawa ng simbahan is a campaign based through persuasion, so sapananampalataya ng mga tao sa kanilang paniniwala, wala namang ginagamit na batas para sakanila kaya, yung kanilang ginagawa kapag matuloy yung batas na yun ay talagang yan magigingcoercion kasi pipilitin ka ayon sa batas.Q: Bishop ito pong isang partikular na bahagi ng panukalang batas ay magbibigay ng parusa samga doktor na tatanggi na magbigay ng serbisyo kagaya nung pagtatali, paglalagay ng IUD doonsa mga babaeng nanganak, sigurado po ako ito’y patungkol sa mga doktor na nasa Catholicowned, control or influenced hospital, kasi hindi pinapayagan yung mga Artificial na ganung bagayna gawin sa manganganak na kababaihan, kung maisa-sabatas po ito at bibigyan ng parusa angdoktor na tatangging mag-bisectomy, tatangging magtali doon sa isang babae, ito po ba’ymatatawag na choice o ito yung coercion?A: Yun ang sinasabi nating coercion at palagay ko laban yan sa human rights, mayroon tayongconsencious objection, pag objection ayon sa ating conscience sila dapat igagalang natin angkonsensiya ng bawat isa so yun yung magiging talagang coercion na gagawin ng batas dahil hindimakatarungan.Q: Yun pong City of Manila noon ang alklade pa ay si Lito Atienza, kilala itong bastion of pro-lifewisdom at bawal diyan hindi bumili ang city government of Manila ng mga anumang bagay naitinuturing na contraceptives, ngayon ay, last week nilagdaan ni Mayor Lim yung pagbaligtad doonsa polisiyang iyon, ito na ay sentro ngayon ng mga reproductive rights ng mga kababaihan atkalalakihan ano po ang inyong reaksiyon sa pagbabagong ito sa panuntunan ng City governmentof Manila?A: Medyo-medyo para sa aming panig hindi nakakalungkot yan yung ganyang policy perotingnan natin sana ang reproductive health ay hindi lang yan dapat mga condom, mga pills kahitna noong panahon ni Atienza na sinabing hindi gagamit ng ganyan ay patuloy pa rin yung naturalfamily planning, ay yan din ang paraan ng pagplano ng pamilya so hindi naman masama angmagplano ng pamilya ang problema ay ano yung paraan na ginagamit?Q: So ang simbahan ay hindi tutol na magplano ang pamilya?A: Hindi tutol dapat, plano ang pamilya, dapat responsible parenthood, so pero ang bahagi ngresponsible parenthood ay edukasyon ng mga tao paano gagamitin ito maging anti-life angattitude ng mga tao natatakot sa buhay na kahit hindi dapat i- enhance yung buhay.Q: Nabnaggit niyo po ang edukasyon mukhang sa panukalang batas na ito, mukhang sapanukalang batas na ito, kung ito ay magiging ganap isang nanap na batas bibigyan ng sexeducation ang bata simula grade IV?A: Yan ay problema, ang sex education na kailangang ibibigay ay sa mga techniques, hindiyung values, matagal naman na dapat binigay natin yang mga values na ito, values napagpapahalaga sa katawan, na sacred yung sex na yang mga buhay ay may biyaya ng Diyos sahalip na mga techniques ang ibibigay so kaya ang mga very information lang na kung mga bataiyan ay mas lalong mapupukaw ang kanilang mga pag-iisip at mga damdamin na sa mga bagayna hindi pa sila handa kung walang proper values na kasama.Q: Sabi ho ng mga investor na pumapasok sa Pilipinas, pagdaw sila ay nangailangan ngdalawang libong welders, walang welders na makuha sa Pilipinas, pero ang skills na ituturo nggobyerno natin kapag naisabatas ito ay yung skills na mapapa-kinabangan sa kama o sa banig?A: O ayan nga ang sinasabi natin na sabihin natin ng halaga for edukasyon kunyari ano, kungtalagang may pera ang gobyerno bakit hindi sa pag-educate ng mga tao at maraming trabaho nanandiyan at nag-aantay kung tumino lang ang mga tao natin, so tugunin natin ang problema ngkahirapan yan yung talagang dapat tugunin kung ano ang problema hindi yung sabi natin angproblema ay populasyon.Q: Bishop kapuna-puna nitong mga nakalipas na araw dahil very vocal and active yungcampaign ng simbahang katoliko laban sa panukalang batas na ito, yung mga nagtutulak nitogumagamit na rin ng ibang mga religious title, may mga Obispo na rin may mga ministro na rinsilang kinakaladkad sa kanilang mga press conference, saan po ba tayo patutungo mukhang anoba ito, gusto ba nilang magkaroon ng religious war o spiritual battle dahil lamang sa isyung ito?
 
A: Ang titingnan na rin it is not just a matter of religion it’s a matter of bad news na dapat natingibigay yung value ng buhay na kung sino mang relihiyon na talagang nagpapahalaga ng buhay,pagpapahalaga ng pamilya ay dapat ito’y pangalagaan hindi ito problema ng relihiyon, ito ayproblema ng ating pagkatao.Q: Iba po namang topic, ano po naman ang reaksiyon ninyo sa panawagan ng Malakanyang nasundin na raw ang korte na nagbabasura sa petisyon na gawing null and void ang ZTE deal?A: Ang ngayon ay sinusunod naman yung desisyon ng korte pero kung humihingi ang senateng reconsideration sa kanilang desisyon dahil alam niya hindi nating puwedeng talikdan dahilbahagi ito ng transparency ng gobyerno, hindi lang ito isyu ng NBN-ZTE kundi bahagi itotransparency, ang gobyerno ba ay handing maglahad ng mga impormasyon na kailangan ngbayan para makapagdesisyson ng maayos, sapagkat ganyang paraan tataguin ng tataguin nggobyerno ang mga information na hindi para sa kanila at hindi na yan tamang demokrasya.Q So sasabihin e coercion na naman ito?A: No, so yan ang mahalaga na ang demokrasya ay nakatuntong sa katotohanan at kung hindilumalabas yung katotohanan ay yung mga tao ay palaging nagdududa so kaya kung paramagkaroon ng kredibilidad ang gobyerno kung wala namang tinatagao bakit hindi sabihin yun,kung wala namang tinatago bakit hindi sabihin yan ang hinihingi natin, kung wala naman silangkasalanan ano problema sa pagsagot sa senado ano tinatago nila diyan.Q: Ok Bishop maraming salamat po sa inyo at magandang umaga!A: Magandnag Umaga! PHILIPPINES: 'Church Ban on Contraceptives Adding to Poverty'
By Kalinga SeneviratneMANILA, Aug 1 (IPS) - A growing and heated debate in this predominantly Catholic countryrevolves around the church’s uncompromising stance against the use of contraceptivedevices that is said to be contributing to poverty and affecting the quality of life for manyFilipinos.
A group of 15 bishops led some 12,000 protestors at a rally here on Jul. 25 against a proposedHouse of Representatives bill aimed at devising a national reproductive health policy.Pulling the other way opinion pieces in the national press have been critical of President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo’s pro-Catholic church stand on population issues. They urged her to make abold anti-poverty statement in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) that was delivered onMonday.Arroyo did not oblige. Her critics were disappointed with the SONA delivered live over nationaltelevision and radio. Far from endorsing the reproductive health bill she defended the bishops’stand."By promoting natural family planning and female education, we have curbed population growth to2.04 percent during our administration, down from 2.36 percent in the 1990s when artificial birthcontrol was pushed. Our campaign spreads awareness of responsible parenthood regarding birthspacing. Long years pushing contraception made it synonymous to family planning. Therefore,informed choice should mean letting more couples, who are mostly Catholic, know about naturalfamily planning," said Arroyo, a devout Catholic, in her address.Addressing last week’s rally, the Archbishop of Manila, Gaudencio Borbón Cardinal Rosales,called on Catholics to exercise self-discipline and self-control, arguing that such virtues willcontribute to a more disciplined and non-corruptible nation. "If there is discipline in marital bed,there is discipline in the streets, there is discipline in schools, there is discipline in government,’’said the Archbishop.Columnist Dahli Aspillera, writing in the ‘Malaya’ newspaper, pointed out that "when a Filipinohusband comes home frustrated, tired, drunk, in bed with his wife, she hasn’t got a chance tocheck her calendar if it is a bad day".The Catholic church in the Philippines only approves of natural family planning methods, whichentail close observation of the woman’s temperature and menstrual cycles to determine when tohave or avoid sex.But, promoting this method in Catholic schools and from the pulpit is said ot have led to anaversion for contraceptives such as condoms, leading to many teenage pregnancies andillegitimate children. Abortion is a criminal offence in the Philippines.Former president Fidel Ramos, a Protestant, argues that high population growth rate needs to becurbed if the country is to tackle poverty. "The population policy of this government is clearlyflawed because of the undue subservience of President Gloria to Catholic bishops," he said in aninterview with IPS."Basically arguing that resorting to artificial means of family planning (as opposed to naturalmethods) is abortion is completely wrong," he added. "We should respect all of them becausewhat we’re trying to protect is the quality of life of the Filipino family and it has to be moderated interms of numbers.’’Ramos pointed out that the attendance rate in schools has dropped in the past four years from 90percent to 82 percent because a growing population has resulted in lack of access to limitedfacilities. "Since you have a growing number of people to take care of, shouldn’t it be logical andreasonable to include that factor in our national planning?" he asked.The growing Christian evangelical movement in the Philippines tends to be in consonance withRamos. "While the Bible tells mankind to multiply, it has specific instructions for humanity to careand protect all of the creation,’’ the Board of the Philippines Council of Evangelical Churches(PCEC) said in a statement released on the weekend.Pointing out that there are 5,800 babies born in the country daily and that, at this rate, thepopulation of the Philippines would shoot up to 100 million within five years, the PCEC had nodoubts that population growth is linked to increasing poverty. "One doesn’t have to be aneconomist to tally how much more food, water, shelter, medicine and other resources will beneeded for their support," it noted. "The present uncontrolled population growth, over these manyyears, has undeniably contributed to and accelerated the poor getting poorer, and has led tothousands of abortions, unnecessary maternal deaths, abandoned children, increase of street
 
dwellers."The country’s population, with an annual growth rate of 2.34 percent, is projected to reach 90million this year. In 2007, the Philippines’ human development index ranking fell seven places, tonumber 90."The problem of population growth is the problem of poverty," argues Father Francis Lucas,president of the Catholic Media Network. "Don't blame population growth for poverty. The problemis disparities in the income levels."The Catholic priest believes that what needs to be ‘’tackled and discussed’’ is disparities rather than population. "Why not address the issue of how many calories of food are wasted by the rich?How much energy is wasted by the rich world?""They (the rich) are becoming greedier and greedier and don't want to change lifestyles. Thedebate therefore is more an issue of morality, disparity and inequity. The debate should focus onasset reform, how much is too much and not manipulating population,’’ the priest argued.Annabel, a 35-year-old mother of five working as a janitor at a broadcasting institution in Manila,has her own ideas of sin and family planning. "I took the pill and later injectables after having thefifth child,’’ the Catholic told IPS."If I can’t take contraception I will give birth to more children," added Annabel. "It will be a sin togive birth to more children and not be able to support them, as they grow up, and give them a goodlife."
Condoms and ReligionIt is without a doubt that the condom is the most affordable and effective means of preventing pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases around the world
. Itis for this reason that numerous groups concerned about the practice of safe sex andcontraception are encouraging the 
use of condoms
 among sexually active teenagers and adults.For many years now, this campaign on contraceptive use has been intensely and widely promotedin countries with bloated human population and increasing cases of HIV infection.It is unfortunate, though, that not all people agree on the use of this contraceptive due to their different religious beliefs. Various religions exist in the world today and each has its own set of practices and ideologies. When it concerns the use of condoms as contraception in family planningprograms and as a method of preventing the spread of sexually infectious diseases, the views of each religion also differ. This issue has been hotly debated among the
conservative religiousgroups
and the liberated cause oriented organizations.Organizations worldwide advocating condom use to avert the spread of  
HIV/AIDS
 have put theblame on religious groups that totally object to the use of contraception for failing to help save thelives of millions of infected people. For many years now, they continue to appeal to religiousleaders to consider condom use, in particular, as a vital approach in preventing the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.AIDS has stricken millions of people around the world today and the number of HIV infectedpeople is on the rise. Health experts believe the condom is one effective way of preventing itsspread to people not yet infected especially when used on a consistent basis.It is important to note that apart from government leaders in countries with a high rate of HIVcases, religious leaders also have a big role to play in the prevention and reduction of HIVinfections. They are vital educators and counselors in the various aspects of people’s livesincluding the HIV/AIDS issue.Here, we will share with you the different religions of the world and their stance on condom use inthis modern age.
Catholicism
The Catholic Church founded in Jerusalem is considered the oldest religious institution being theoriginal branch of Christianity. It promotes the teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth based on theGospels of Mark, Matthew, John and Luke.
To the Catholic Church, marriage is a sacred relationship
. Both husband and wife are urged toremain faithful towards each other throughout their lifetime and avoid extramarital relationships atall cost. It is also necessary among Catholics not to engage in sex before marriage as a sign of respect for their religion. The church’s catechism is that all sex acts must be done only to unite acouple and allow them to have children.But since the olden days, the church’s position on the use of condom and other contraception as aform of family planning and even as a way to prevent the transmission of disease has always beena big no. The Catholic Church’s stand has always been unbending despite claims by the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S. that condomusage lowers the risk of HIV/AIDS infection by 10,000 times against not using any protection at all.But to the church, it is a sin to use such contraceptive and based on official teaching, unless usersconfess their sin of using condoms and do penance, they won’t achieve salvation. For the RomanCatholic Church, only the natural family planning method and abstinence is acceptable.Many Catholics remain conservative in their views on condoms even until today. They believe thatthe condom prevents the conception of life which is very sacred. To them, only God can end life.The Roman Catholic Church’s traditional ban on birth control was stated in the 1968 encyclicalHumanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI. The late Pope John Paul II, for his part, was also known for hisstrong opposition on the use of condoms as a form of contraception and method of preventingdisease. He was highly criticized for his stance but he stood by it until the end.But then again, many people who have high hopes and strong faith believe things can change for the better. And the change they have been longing for has somehow become a reality when thenew Pope Benedict XVI, after his election, expressed interest in looking into the possibility of allowing the use of condoms as a means of averting the spread of disease notably HIV/AIDS. ThePope’s health minister is said to be instrumental in this change of position.
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