The president of the Philippine bishops’ conference said the church was open to dialogue with President Benigno Aquino III [pictured] about his proposal to distribute contraceptives, and the prelate denied media reports that he threatened to excommunicate the president. Bishop Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, conference president, said in a statement on Sept. 30: “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. I maintained that the traditional position of the church is that human life starts at conception and not at implantation. 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.”
Philippine Bishops, President Clash
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
“It’s a cruel policy because if it were adopted, it would impact children mostly. It would impact future generations, and, as is consistent with his theme, it divides people. It would divide our country even further.”
A Reflection for Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time, by Noah Banasiewicz, S.J.
The Catholic Church has its own history of prophetic voices using the moral authority of the priesthood to remind political leaders of the Christian precept of human dignity.
Vice President JD Vance will speak at the March for Life rally in the nation’s capital Jan. 24, organizers announced a day prior to the event.