MANILA, Sept. 21, 2011— On the 39th anniversary of the proclamation of martial law, a Church official has accused the Aquino administration of pushing for a new form of “dictatorship” through the reproductive health (RH) bill.
It is tyranny, said Fr. Melvin Castro of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Commission on Family and Life, in a sense that it would impose practices that are contrary to morals of the society.
“It imposes on the people especially the youth to embrace contraceptive mentality,” Castro told Church-run Radyo Veritas. “To destroy the morals of our young people is one of the worst forms of dictatorship.”
He said repercussions of the controversial birth control measure might even be worse than the one imposed in 1972 since the public is not being told about it by its proponents and advocates.
Castro’s statement also coincided with the most recent pitch made by President Benigno Aquino III about his administration’s commitment to push the measure.
In an open forum in New York, Aquino said he will not be cowed like an “ostrich burying its head in the sand” on the passage of the RH bill despite the Church’s opposition.
Efforts to enact the bill which promotes access to sex education and contraception have been blocked since 1990s by the Catholic hierarchy. Around 80 percent of the country’s 94 million people are Catholic.
The Church only favors the use of natural family planning method. [CBCPNews]
