Statement on RH Bill by Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma

Every birth is a gift from God; every new life, a blessing, every birth a cause for rejoicing and praising God who create new life only out of love.

Our country’s positive birth rate and a population composed of mostly young people are the main players that fuel the economy. A fact that even the government itself acknowledges as it is determined to feed, educate and keep the young people healthy.

And rightly so, for even our Constitution acknowledges that human resource is a primary source of social and economic force.

Earlier this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that the hard-earned salaries of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that were sent to their families for the first 11 months last year amounted to $18.3 billion, which is 7.3 percent increase in the same period in 2010.

Filipino men and women who endure the travails of working in foreign soil play a significant role in propping up our economy.

The country’s robust population is a big push to our economy, according to former US president Bill Clinton, local and international financial institutions and the public sector.

It is therefore quite disturbing when the country is told that having too many school children is a burden to the national budget.

Can we have enough of schooled, skilled, diligent and highly driven young people who are a driving force of economic progress?

The draconian population control policy of the reproductive health bill would only curtail our economic growth. The problem of countries with former robust economies is the lack of young workers for their industries and inadequate support for their aging population.

The issue in maternal death as it has been mentioned is a serious concern. But the solution does not lie in suppressing births as provided in the RH Bill.

Providing proper and adequate maternal care could be done without passing the RH bill, but by strengthening and improving access to existing medical services.

There is an ill portent for the nation when the government does not look at its own population as a source of grace and blessing.

There is a grave reason to worry when the government would rather suppress the population through RH bill instead of confronting the real causes of poverty.

+JOSE S. PALMA, DD

Archbishop of Cebu

President, CBCP

30 July 2012

Comments

Schedule of Masses and Pilgrimages at Carmelite Monastery

Solemnity of our Lady of Mount Carmel, 2011. Cebu Carmel Solemnity of our Lady of Mount Carmel, 2011 Schedule of Masses and Pilgrimages (see pictures) for the Novena Cebu Carmelite Monastery, Cebu Philippines. Taken from: @Ste_de_Lisieux (twitter Account) and http://lovepetitefleur.blogspot.com Mother of God, Queen and Beauty of Carmel, Pray for us. Flower of Carmel Vine blossom-laden, splendour of heaven, Child-bearing yet maiden, None equals thee. Mother so tender, whom no man didst know, On Carmel's children thy favours bestow, Star of the sea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother!" Thursday, July 7 6:00 a.m. Holy Mass Celebrant -Preacher - Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Tan 7:30 a.m. Celebrant- Preacher- Rev. Fr. Wilfredo, Borces, MSP Pilgrims - Blessed Sa...

COAT OF ARMS of humility -the heraldic of Pope Benedict XVI

The coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI soon after the papal election. Benedict's coat of arms has omitted the papal tiara, which traditionally appears in the background to designate the Pope's position as a worldly ruler like a king, replacing it with a simple mitre, emphasising his spiritual authority! Scallop shell: The symbolism of the scallop shell is multiple,while it represent the pilgrim church(as II Vatican COuncil formulates)being a symbol for pilgrims for Santiago de Compostela , the other meanings is thought to represent Saint Augustine.The legend tells,that St Augustine was humilated in his scholastic thinking when he met the child Christ on the shore with a shell digging a hole to place the entire ocean in it!! Moor of Freising: The Moor's head is an heraldic charge associated with Freising, Germany where Benedict first serve as Archbishop.It deplicate an african slave with a crown in his head,meaning a freed one out of bondage from sin!! Corbinian's b...

‘Poorest’ president in the world donates 90% of salary to charity

Uruguayan President José Mujica, has earned the nickname of the “poorest,” or the “most generous,” president in the world By LARA FERNANDEZ Usually presidents are not associated with poverty. Some, like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, are even linked to big spending and generous welfare programs. But the President of Uruguay, José Mujica, has earned the nickname of the “poorest,” or the “most generous,” president in the world — depending on how you see things— after revealing that he donates 90 percent of his earnings, to charitable causes. In a recent interview, Mujica told Spain’s El Mundo that he earns a salary of $12,500 a month, but only keeps $1,250 for himself, donating the rest to charity. The president said that the only big item he owns is his VW car, valued at $1,945 dollars. The farmhouse in which he lives in Montevideo is under his wife’s name, Lucía Topolansky, a Senator, who also donates part of her salary. “I ...

Ad Maoirem De Gloriam

Search This Blog