A huge banner against divorce hangs at the fence of Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA - In the words of a departed bishop, the Philippines as one of the last holdouts for divorce is a distinction to be proud of.  

That was the late Archbishop Oscar Cruz in 2011, incensed by the resurgence of debates that sought to legalize divorce in Asia's bastion of Catholicism.  

While this persistence has been credited for keeping divorce at bay for a long time, some experts believe such force is no longer as formidable as in the past.

"Since the 2000s, we know that the political influence of the Catholic Church on the Filipino public has been declining," said Jayeel Cornelio, a sociologist of religion and a professor at the Ateneo De Manila University.

"There are surveys, there are studies that sociologists have already done about this."

On the side of policymaking, political analyst Jean Encinas-Franco from the University of the Philippines Diliman, has a similar view.  

“I think, in a way, we can say that the influence of the Church, the Catholic Church, in policymaking is not as strong as before,” Encinas-Franco said.

With over three centuries of Spanish colonization, Catholicism deeply permeated the fabric of Philippine institutions, including its political arena.

A 2020 census by the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed that 78.8% of the population are Catholics followed by Muslims with 6.4%. Meanwhile, 2.6% accounted for members of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC).  

The Philippines is the only remaining country other than the Vatican where divorce is not legal. 

But 13 years after Archbishop Cruz’s words, the Catholic Church in the country is once again confronted by moves to legalize divorce. This time, the bill hurdled the House of Representatives.

Absolute divorce bill gets final House nod 

House-approved Absolute Divorce Bill transmitted to Senate 

The clergy has started making moves.  

Archdioceses and dioceses across the country have issued respective statements denouncing divorce.  

Lingayen Archbishop Socrates Villegas seemingly echoed his predecessor, Archbishop Cruz, and said that the Philippines as a holdout for divorce is a “badge of honor, a mark of distinction.”

He also warned that Catholics who would avail of divorce and re-marry are “in a serious, morally wrongful state.”  

The Diocese of Malolos, meanwhile, encouraged people to join a signature campaign against divorce, strengthen programs addressing family needs, and pray the rosary.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the bishops’ Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, on the other hand, said that the Lower House’s approval of the bill was “a betrayal of their constitutional mandate to uphold marriage and the family.”  

In some churches like the Quiapo Church and Malolos Cathedral, tarpaulins emblazoned with “No to Divorce” have sprung up. Some priests have also started using their homily to denounce divorce, highlighting that it threatens the “sanctity of marriage.”

‘TEAM PATAY, TEAM BUHAY’: A LOOK BACK AT THE RH BILL DEBATES  

To understand the viability of such moves, Cornelio drew parallels from over a decade ago’s debates about the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. The clergy at that time tried to mobilize the people in the hopes of blocking its enactment.  

“Pansinin mo (Notice this) every time that the CBCP makes a statement and then it gets read in the parishes, actually people don’t like that eh. People don’t like that, and the watershed moment was the RH bill,” Cornelio said.  

The controversial measure guarantees free access to available modern contraceptives and mandates reproductive health education. 

Priests and bishops at that time used the pulpit to reject the bill, emphasizing how it contradicted the Church’s teaching against the use of artificial contraceptives.  

The clergy also warned that easy access to contraceptives, like condoms, would promote sexual promiscuity among the youth.  

The most glaring was the Diocese of Bacolod’s use of a giant “Team Buhay, Team Patay” (Team Life, Team Death) tarpaulin. It listed the names of candidates who supported the RH bill – a warning to people not to vote for such politicians.  

“Every Sunday at one point during the RH debates talagang it was being pounded on people. Every sermon, every homily was being exploited in that regard. But it backfired. This is no longer the Catholic Church of the 1980s,” Cornelio said.

Various groups opposing the RH bill gathered at EDSA Shrine for a rally organized by Catholic bishops in 2012. Manny Palmero/File photo 

He also emphasized that the RH bill was stalled for the longest time, not due to the Church’s influence on public opinion, but because of its “alliance-building” tactic with policymakers.  

“For the longest time RH bill was not passed into law not because of public opinion but because the Catholic Church worked with its allies in Congress,” he said.  

“And some studies have been done about this na parang alliance-building ng Catholic Church through the clergy but also through the party-lists... Catholic party-list Ang Buhay, for example.”

The RH bill was later signed into law by the late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III despite the threat of excommunication by then CBCP president Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar.  

Instead of streamlined shaping of public opinion on the national level, Cornelio said the Church’s influence now is more grounded on the local level.  

“The mobilization of the Catholic Church has become fully decentralized. There’s no longer the ‘national Church.’ I don’t think that exists na. What exists are local dioceses, local archdioceses, local parishes where local issues might matter,” he said.  

Encinas-Franco also noticed this decentralization but highlighted the effect of Pope Francis’s different tone in dealing with issues about divorce and sexuality – topics that the Church has long viewed as taboo.  

A look at Pope Francis' comments about LGBTQ+ people 

Pope Francis: Same-sex couples should be covered by civil union laws

10 years of Pope Francis: 10 quotes in a papacy of mercy 

“If you notice right now when the divorce bill is being talked about, at least on social media, you won’t see much about the CBCP statement unlike before,” she said.  

“It also tells us that in a way times are changing, people’s views about divorce are changing... Even the pope, the current pope has been very vocal about certain issues that were not really talked about.”  

Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” floated a case-by-case discernment on whether to allow divorced and remarried Catholics access to Communion.  

The pope also lamented how those in relationships deemed “irregular” have felt ostracized and excluded by the Church.  

While this earned praise from the liberal and progressive factions in the Church, ultra-conservatives, especially in the United States, criticized the pope, with some even accusing him of heresy.  

In his visit to the Philippines, Vatican's foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher said “there have been no communications between Rome and the local Catholic Church, certainly no diplomatic overtures to the department or to the government” with regard to divorce. 

ENTER THE NEW INFLUENTIAL RELIGIOUS FIGURES  

Although Cornelio recalled that the alliance-building tactic “did not work” during the RH bill debates, he expects the clergy to wield the same strategy.  

For Encinas-Franco, while she agreed that lawmakers would factor in the maneuverings of the Church, she expects politicians to also heed the stance of their constituents.

“I would like to believe that our legislators are also weighing the demands of their constituents. I say that because 20 years ago it was unthinkable for a legislator to even file a measure on divorce or anti-SOGIE discrimination,” she said.  

“So in a way, it shows us that times are really changing. The sentiments of our legislators are also aligning with the sentiments of their constituents.”

But for the two experts, the religious power du jour in the political arena is no longer the Catholic Church.  

They believe that such kind of influence now rests on other Christian denominations.

“If you look at religion and politics in the Philippines, the big religious players are no longer the Catholic Church,” Cornelio said.  

Iglesia ni Cristo church along Commonwealth Avenue. Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News 

He cited the INC, known for its practice of bloc voting and endorsing election candidates. There was also Jesus is Lord Church, with its leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva serving as a congressman via CIBAC party-list. Cornelio also mentioned personalities like Manila 6^th district Rep. Benny Abante, a pastor of the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church, and former senator Manny Pacquiao, a known born-again Christian.  

Encinas-Franco concurred with this observation and underscored how influential members of some evangelical churches are now in Congress.  

An SWS survey published on May 31, 2024 revealed that opposition to divorce is strongest among Filipino members of INC followed by other Christian denominations and Catholics.  

Among those who were surveyed, INC members scored a -10 net agreement. Catholics, meanwhile, posted a +20 net agreement, putting it in a statistical tie with other Christians with +20 net agreement.  

MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH 

For Encinas-Franco, the reality is that nothing can prevent couples from separating hence the government should provide the means for people who would need the option that is divorce.

Citing marriage experts, particularly feminist scholars, she pointed out that love and religion had nothing to do with marriage when its very concept was instituted.

“Later na lang in-adopt ‘yun ng Catholic Church at ng iba pang churches at ‘yung mga rituals that have to do with weddings and marriage at later na rin sya na-equate with love. Pero nung araw, nung ancient times, walang kinalaman ang love and religion sa marriage,” she explained. 

The so-called “sanctity of marriage” has been the center of various statements from Catholic institutions released after the Lower House approved the divorce bill.  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “divorce is a grave offense against the natural law” as it “breaks the contract to which spouses freely consented.”

The catechism also warned that contracting a new union “adds the gravity of the rupture” and that “the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery.” 

To address the issues concerning “irreparable marriages,” some like the Dioceses of Malolos and Imus pointed out that legal remedies such as legal separation and annulment are already available under Philippine law. They suggested that these legal options be more accessible and affordable.

Family ministries at local parishes have also been pointed out as means for the laity to seek help from the Church in matters of family and marital problems.  

According to Cornelio, this should be the focus of the Catholic Church, not on policymaking.  

So far, he said statements from Catholic institutions, and even from other Christian denominations were “primarily moralistic.”  

What needs to be addressed, he said, are the fundamental reasons why some families are “broken apart, broken up,” like in cases of domestic violence.   

“The reality of dysfunctional families in the Philippines cannot be denied. So if people are not seeking refuge in the Catholic Church, then it says a lot, doesn't it? “ he said.  

RELATED VIDEO: