Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

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.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment.
No one can manufacture Christmas, make Christmas magic. Christmas is not compelled by effort or technique. No, there is only Christmas grace.
Terrance KleinDecember 23, 2024
The American and Chinese flags at the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjiakou, China, on Feb. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
Peace among nations is a necessary precondition for any solution to the climate change crisis. Instead, we have a renewed arms race and a mad dash for exhaustible natural resources.
Dwayne David PaulDecember 23, 2024
The eyes of faith allowed us to see the people we served as people who shared in the purpose of life we all have been tasked with: to love and be loved.
Phil CoutureDecember 23, 2024