MANILA, Philippines - Catholic bishops are ramping up activities to oppose the passage of a controversial birth control measure a full week before President Aquino's State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Msgr. Juanito Figura, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines secretary general, said the Catholic Church is preparing several activities to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Humanae Vitae, the landmark encyclical by Pope Paul VI that deals with the Church’s uncompromising stand on birth control.
Since the date of the anniversary -- July 25 -- falls on the SONA, the celebration will be held in advance.
“We’ll be doing activities a week before that just to stay away from the SONA,” said Figura.
Aside from Humanae Vitae, the Church is also marking the 20th anniversary of Familiaris Consortio (The Role of Christian family), an apostolic exhortation written by Pope John Paul II. The document describes the church’s position concerning the meaning and role of marriage and the family, and outlines challenges towards realizing that ideal.
The apostolic exhortation also defines marriage "as a personal union in which the spouses reciprocally give and receive."
The document restates the opposition to artificial birth control stated earlier in Humanae Vitae, and mentions opposition to abortion.
During the bishops’ plenary assembly last week, Pope Benedict XVI urged them to continue protect the sanctity of life and marriage.
CBCP President and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar earlier said that they will continue to speak out against the Reproductive Health bill as this is their duty to the people.
“We are the last bastion standing against the RH bill, divorce and now there is also the possibility of same-sex marriage and we won’t be surprised if after that would come euthanasia,” he said. With a report from CBCPNews