Friday, July 18, 2008 Roperos: Cardinal’s tact By Godofredo M. Roperos Politics Also
PLACING the burden in the hands of the 48 lawmakers supporting House Bill 4110, Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal appears to have avoided a sort of head-on collision with the House members.
The conflict is really not a matter of objectives or goals, but more of ways or means of attaining the goals or objectives. One does not have to nit-pick on the issue to realize its commonality.
The controversy would not have erupted at this time or this early were it not for the difficulties that blanket us.
It seems there are unseen “wills” conspiring to generate the global destabilization of the economy, starting with the rise in the consumption of oil by the nations of the world, and then the perceived world food shortages.
The effect is the rise in the prices of basic commodities. Inevitably, our thinking citizens started to consider with deep concern our steadily increasing population.
What concerned leaders of the ‘70s and ‘80s had feared would be the effects of over-population were considered then as just results of speculations of doom. But now, it seems the fear has become real.
During those decades including the ‘90s, the idea of over-population stirred strong reaction against population control. Then the controversy died down as the economic condition of the country somehow stabilized.
The conflict was laid to rest for some time since the republic had to concern itself with the other issues of politics, graft and corruption in high offices, political rivalry and the battle between the administration party and the opposition.
Today, the issue is back with a vengeance, with the Church banning from taking Holy Communion lawmakers and lay Catholics supporting or will support the proposed reproductive health and population management bills in Congress.
The Cardinal, though, has come out with the opinion that he would rather just leave it the consciences of the lawmakers to decide what to do.
On my part, the thought of having millions more of mouths to feed every month, as new babies are born to Filipino women, many of which are due to unplanned pregnancy, makes me shudder with unease considering the high prices of rice and corn grits, and the threat of continuing inflation.
With the wages of our average daily workers remaining the same while the prices of basic commodities continue to inflate, what choice do you have?
