MANILA, Dec. 10, 2012— Catholic bishops will troop to the House of Representatives on Wednesday as the House of Representatives will try to put the “reproductive health” bill to a vote.
Ironically, the voting on the controversial population control measure falls on the feast day of the Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the unborn.
For the Church, it is a significant day as bishops called on the faithful to pray so that the RH bill will not be passed.
“Let us come together to offer continued prayers for the non-passage of the RH bill,” said Antipolo Gabriel Reyes who heads CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL).
Fr. Melvin Castro, ECFL executive secretary, said the presence of bishops in Congress is also to show support to lawmakers who are against the measure.
“It was a sentiment presented by the anti-RH legislators because they said they need moral, spiritual, and physical presence of the bishops,” Castro said.
He said the bishops will first hold a Mass at the nearby St. Peter Parish Church along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City before they proceed to Congress.
A number of pro-life demonstrators and members of various Church-based organizations will also gather outside Congress to pray that the Lower House will reject the bill.
“After the Mass, there will be a procession all the way to Batasan. If all of us cannot be accommodated inside then we’ll just stay outside to pray,” he said.
Earlier, the bishops pushed for the use of nominal voting instead of viva voce, in the event that the lawmakers decide to vote on the RH bill, to maintain transparency. (CBCPNews)
