[URL=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080714-148259/Anti-life-pols-must-be-refused-communion]Anti-life pols must be refused communion[/URL]

[Quote]
MANILA, Philippines—Catholic politicians who push for abortion should not be allowed to receive Holy Communion because they are “in a situation of sin,” according to a top leader of the Catholic Church.

Ozamiz Archbishop Jesus Dosado has issued a pastoral letter saying that politicians who consistently campaign for and endorse permissive abortion should be taught about the Church position.

Priests should also tell the politicians that, unless they stop their pro-abortion actions, they should not insist on receiving the Holy Eucharist because they will just be denied, Dosado said in a report posted on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, CBCP public affairs office chief, said the CBCP as a whole had yet to discuss the stand on refusing communion to pro-abortion politicians.

But it is in the canons of the Church that those who have engaged in abortion and those who have participated in such an act are banned from receiving Holy Communion, Iñiguez said.

They have to be forgiven first by a bishop before the prohibition could be lifted.

Dosado’s pastoral letter came days after the CBCP said it was alarmed by “anti-life” bills in the House of Representatives.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo said at a press briefing after the two-day CBCP plenary assembly ended last week that the bishops would lobby against the bills.
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The funny thing is that the said bill doesn't have anything to do with abortion - it calls for government-sponsored sex education and family planning.

[QUote]
The bill—An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development—has been coauthored by at least 48 members of the House.

It includes a provision for “mandatory reproductive health and sexuality education.” Such education should be taught in “an age-appropriate manner … by adequately trained teachers starting from Grade 5 up to fourth year high school.”

The bill also sets aside 10 percent of the “gender and development” budget of all government agencies for the operations of the Commission on Population.
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Being Catholic, this report pissed me off enough to write this letter to the paper:

[Quote]
I find it painfully hypocritical that the CBCP would suggest not giving communion to members of the church simply because of their stance on family planning. What about other members guilty of other "sins?"

What about the politicos who steal from the people and still have the gall to show their faces at church every Sunday? That's been going on for decades, and yet they pick this as a reason to kick somebody out?

Why not also refuse to give communion to Gloria's entourage who flew overseas just to watch Pacquiao's bout, even as we were still reeling from Typhoon Frank's aftermath?

Talk about double-standards!

While I don't agree with Gabriella on many matters, I will side with their point that abortion happens simply because many women here have neither the financial nor the emotional means to care for their child. There are probably more reason, but given our level of poverty, this is the most likely cause.

If the church really is so against abortion, then why don't they care for the unwanted child? Or would they rather he/she will grow up in "a situation of sin," where starvation and neglect will push them to resort to drastic actions just to stay alive?

I am angered especially because I am also a practicing Catholic - since when did we end up leaders this backward-thinking? Family planning does not equal anti-life. If anything, it ensures that the couple will have the means to properly take care of their offspring.

As for the argument that sex education will lead to immoral acts - this flow of logic implies that reading about lockpicking will also encourage us to commit thefts, or that reading about serial killers will turn us into murderers.

Except that this doesn't happen normally - unless the one reading is already mentally disturbed - and it only reveals that the CBCP is selling their pulpit's common sense and integrity short. We are smarter than that, and we certainly deserve better leaders than that. [/Quote]