The RH Bill? The Endless Debates (Part 2)

FOR the Catholics, natural family planning is the only means to practice responsible parenthood. It is a question of morality for us. Where morality is at stake versus practices proposed by all the others as the use of contraceptives and induced abortion are non-negotiable for us. We stand firm on this. We believe in the sacredness if the institution of marriage for a husband and a wife with respect to their nature as genuine human beings capable of true love as God designed it to be. I am a faithful with this dedicated advocacy to espouse this belief. Husband and wife have the sole right to plan their family. No legislation, tax exemption, and all demeaning descriptions given them by the Pro-RH bill proponents will perturb them.

No free sex, promiscuous relationships, live-in affairs and immorality practiced by others will be considered by us, Catholics. No true, divine and genuine love exists here. Nothing but lust and almost beastly actuations of the unenlightened are evident. These are the scenarios we witness daily from which all the need for contraceptives, induced abortions, and heinous crimes about killing innocent infants arise.

Let me dwell on the freedom of each Filipino to choose his own religion or ideology. Moslems have their own tenets and doctrine to which they are bound to obey: plurality of marriage up to four wives, abstaining from pork and blood of animals to meet their halal belief, practice of the Ramadan, a set of time of prayer which they do as solemn obligation, are just some of their rights where no one can impose any prohibition. Therefore, in much the same way we Catholics cannot impose our beliefs on them, the Moslems are no to impose on us what they believe in.

Back to my advocacy, I am duly bound, as well as all practicing Catholics, to work zealously to instruct our Catholic flocks to practice natural family planning. We train and educate all Catholics, rich and poor alike, from youth to adulthood to adhere to this moral way of procreating human beings as the Almighty had planned it. We explain to them why we do not agree with all parts of the RH Bill.

Family planning for Catholic married couples, husband and wife agree to have the number of children they can afford to rear sufficiently from infancy to adulthood physically, biologically, emotionally, socially, economically and most important of all morally and spiritually. More than this number of children the couple must practice the natural method of family planning. The best known method is the Billings’ Method of considering the ovulation cycle or mucus method of a wife.

Other natural methods are the temperature method, the hormone production method, a breastfeeding mother will not ovulate, and abstinence.

All Catholic women, rich and poor alike, are instructed, trained, and educated on the practice of natural family planning. They are made aware of all the negative aspects of contraceptives and all the artificial methods of controlling family size.

There is the spirit of ecumenism, which we practice in our faith. We recognize the universal brotherhood of all men regardless of faith. We believe in unity in diversity. We are the children of one God, the Allah, the Apo. We may only differ in the manner we practice our faith. Not one person is entitled to believe only on his way to salvation.

Respect and understanding even charitable tolerance for each one’s belief are Christian virtues. With a dedication to evangelization, we strive to work on the conversion of non-believers. This is evident in the heartwarming stories of conversions we know and read in our Catholic periodicals.

So where are we now? What is all the argument about? Remember, no person is allowed to transgress on somebody’s non-alienable right to profess his own religion, his faith and his beliefs. For any similar issues to crop up in our country in the future, let us remember this important premise. (Citizen Fe)