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October 1, 2010
Philip Tubeza, in a Philippine Daily Inquirer article posted that CBCP reminds Aquino about excommunication. The totality of Mr. Tubeza’s article focused on issues of birth control, the need for contraceptives to regulate the bulging population of the Philippines, the inclination of the new Philippine President to allow the use of contraceptives, and the position of the Filipino Bishops against anyone who would promulgate and promote the use of such contraceptives with the threat of excommunication.
With almost ninety eight million Filipinos scattered around the poorly developed islands back home, we are the 7th most populated country in Asia. We occupy the 16th place amongst the poorest nations in that continent, and we fill up 765 Filipinos for every square mile. Way back in 1980, one out of four Metro Manila residents was a squatter, a marginalized yet somewhat protected sector of the Philippine population. According to a study made by the Australian government in 2006, there are around 20 million Filipinos who live below US$1.25 a day. Eight out of every ten Filipinos are Catholics whose faith and practices still linger around some very old tradition inherited from the Spanish colonizers or from the even older pagan practices prior to the arrival of the first missionaries.
Considering these data, we would think that it is common sense for any government President to worry about and do something about one of the worst causes of poverty – unwanted birth or a licentious pattern of sexual reproduction from a nation wherein more than 20% of its people are indigents. Then here comes the Filipino Catholic Bishops exhorting with a collective voice an obstinate protest against artificial contraceptives. Although there is a freedom of speech even among religious dictators, the use of threats to stop anyone against the basic Catholic tenets of birth control reminds me of the medieval ages when the Church and State were so entwined that Bishops became Kings and Kings ruled on priests.
I am a Catholic who received a Catholic upbringing from the Philippines. I was further trained amongst the most conservative Religious professionals while I was a student. Yet, I find it ludicrous and even disappointing that so many of the clerics back in the Philippines still behave as if they had the power to rule upon the affairs of our government.
In my little knowledge of Canon Law (the laws by which the Bishops are mandated to obey), Canon 1318 explicitly states that “a legislator (referring to a Diocesan Bishop) should not constitute censure, especially excommunication, except with the greatest moderation, and only for the more grave offences”. With this in mind, we can deduce that excommunication should not be used to ward off Catholics against deviating from Catholic Theological theories.
Nonetheless, granted that the Catholic Bishops remain quiet and not express their position as to where they stand regarding contraceptives, artificial birth control, by itself, cannot completely solve the poverty of the Filipinos nor could it provide the answers for a planned demographic growth. In fact, if each and every Filipino had an equal opportunity in education and in employment, having more of the same good thing would not be bad at all.
Back in the Philippines, as in any setting neglected by the developments of time, there is an inner tendency for a Filipino Catholic to elevate the clergy into a pedestal they are not suitable to stand on. Hence, because of this treatment, some clergy then develop the guts to use their own laws as threats against government initiatives. In any democratic society, citizens have a right to oppose or defend ideas or ideologies that do not support common good. However, the use of threats that pertain to spiritual convictions and faith, despite the perception of a common good, is more of a sectoral discrimination, civil or religious. The president should be allowed to make the best decision for his people without being threatened by any specific sector. After all, although 80% of Filipinos are Catholics, there are also Filipinos who are neither Christians nor Catholics. The President, from the perspectives of public office, needs to close his eyes against any preference of faith or religious tradition. Although it is true that Church authorities could exercise their power to excommunicate a President, such an Excercise will not produce any benevolent outcome. In so doing, the Filipino Conference of Bishops will only entice a larger sector of the Philippine government to have antipathy against them, if not a total hatred. I am not saying that they cannot go against the use of artificial contraceptives. They should. I am a Catholic and I am against it. What I would simply want to emphasize is that the use of threats and misplaced power never resulted in any peaceful resolution.
Although it is true that the Catholic Bishops would want a dialogue with the President, it would be nice if these Catholic Bishops truly represented the voice and the needs of the Filipino Catholics. Such needs are not restricted to birth control. It would be nice if the Catholic Bishops realize the importance of good and quality education to the point that they should motivate the religious owners of the more expensive and exclusive schools to open their doors freely to more deserving students from a less wealthy background. It is ironic that the original intent of the first missionaries in the Philippines is to educate the vast majority of our people. I was wondering how that noble intent evolved into a lucrative enterprise of selling the best education only to those who can afford to pay. Whatever happened to the cost free education that our foreign educators dreamt that Filipinos would all have?
When the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines meet with the President, I hope they can realize that the Philippines is not the Catholic Church in the same token that the Catholic Church in the Philippines should not control or persuade the government to act according to Church laws. They need to be reminded about the separation of Church and State. If they want to be directly involved with government affairs, it would then be prudent to first act as a public servant rather than maintain being a religious leader.
Artificial birth control will not help stop the spread of poverty nor could it be an effective tool against the unplanned increase of Philippine population. In most cases, it could probably entice more people to indulge in unnecessary acts of copulation.