MANILA (Updated 8:34 a.m.) -- A top official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has denied threatening to excommunicate President Benigno Aquino III if the Chief Executive continues to support the right to contraception.
"I deny the news report aired in TV network (Thursday) evening that I threatened President Aquino with excommunication in the interview with Radio Veritas (Thursday) morning," CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar said in a disclaimer posted at
www.cbcponline.net.
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In an interview Thursday over a Church-run radio station, Odchimar, when asked if Aquino’s direct involvement in the promotion of the contraception could be enough reason for him to get excommunicated, said: “That is a possibility… right now, it is a proximate possibility.â€
But he cleared that his statement on having Aquino excommunicated was taken out of context and blown out of proportion, adding he did not specifically call for the President to be excommunicated.
In the CBCP website, the prelate said: "While the prevailing sentiment of a number of bishops was that of dismay and frustration over the reported stance of the President regarding artificial contraceptives, imposition of the canonical sanction has not been contemplated by the CBCP."
While in the US last week, Aquino during a forum with Filipino Americans suggested his administration would be willing to distribute contraceptives to poor couples who couldn’t afford it.
"That (contraception) is an issue of gravity. That is a violation of God’s commandment,†Odchimar said over Radio Veritas.
In CBCP website, Odchimar said "some contraceptive pills and devices are abortifacient. Any completed act to expel or kill the fertilized ovum is considered to be an act of abortion."
He added: "I stated that the initial approach of this issue is to be in the spirit of dialogue and not of confrontation. Threat of excommunication at this point of time can hardly be considered to be in line with dialogue."
"Canon Law and Morals demand that the sanction is imposed under moral immutability of the sinner. The Church intervenes in this issue because this is a moral question," he said.
Excommunication is a Church penalty against a person, which is being separated from the spiritual benefits as members of the Church, including the acceptance of the Holy Communion.
The Canon Law of the Catholic Church states that the only way for an individual to be excommunicated is when he or she hurts the Pope and those who commit and/or are accessory to the commission of abortion.
Odchimar, however, said the CBCP is open for discussion with the President on the issue of excommunication.
Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda said on Thursday that the President has wrote a letter to the CBCP, expressing his willingness to sit down with the prelates for a dialogue.
“We will exhaust all peaceful means," Odchimar said, adding the bishops' group is yet to receive the President's letter.
The Catholic Church on Thursday found an ally in a Muslim group who is also against the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.
According to the CBCP website, the Imam Council of the Philippines joined the Catholic Church in its campaign against birth control pills and condoms even among married couples.
Ibram Moxir, council head, told the CBCP that the Islam community is one with the Catholic hierarchy in opposing the passage of the Reproductive Health bill, which seeks to control the country’s growing birth rate.
Moxir also said he is saddened that the government is pushing for the legislation so that at least P100 will be allocated for the purchase of artificial contraceptives.
On Wednesday, CBCP Public Affairs Committee head Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez asked the faithful not to support the RH Bill as it contradicted the teachings of the Church.
In recent years, the church has spearheaded opposition to a reproductive health bill that calls for contraceptives to be provided in government hospitals and sex education to be taught in public schools. The bill is pending in the House of Representatives.
The Church is pushing for the natural family planning method for married couples.
Lacierda, meanwhile, said Aquino cannot certify for the urgency of the RH bill despite calls from lawmakers.
House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., for his part, said he is prepared to face the wrath of the church in making sure the bill is discussed extensively and voted on by lawmakers.
Proponents of the contraception bill have argued that rapid population growth and high fertility rates have exacerbated crushing poverty, and birth control could be a powerful way to raise living standards.
Politicians have long avoided clashing with the church, and it has proven in the past its ability to successfully intercede in politics. (Jill Beltran/FP/PNA/AP/Sunnex)
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