Manila (AsiaNews) On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, concerned Filipino Catholics will gather in Manila's Cathedral on December 12th to celebrate a holy mass of intercession while awaiting the results of pending anti-family and pro-abortion laws currently under review by Congress.
The mass will be con-celebrated by Manila's new archbishop, Gaudencio Rosales, archbishopPaciano Aniceto of Pampanga, archbishop Francisco San Diego of Pasig and military ordinary bishop, Ramon Arguelles. Also celebrating will be Msgr. Roberto Mallari, executive secretary to the Filipino Bishops Conference's Episcopal Commission on Family and Life.Following the mass, Catholics are set to launch the activist organization, ARMADA (acronym for "Mary's Army Against Death and Abortion") to inform Filipinos and the rest of the world of the anti-life bills in the final stages of deliberation in the nation's Congress. The movement is sponsored by family and pro-life movements around the country, underscoring the Church's role in leading the faithful in the defence of human life and family.The three anti-life and anti-family bills under revision in the House of Representatives are: the Integrated Population and Development Act, the Anti-Discriminatory Act or Gay Rights Act and the Reproductive Health Care Act. According to ARMADA officials, the latter bill endangers the health of women and institutionalizes adolescent "sexual rights" and family planning services without parental consent. It also imposes penalties amounting to 20,000 pesos or 1-6 months imprisonment for violating prohibited acts, including third party restrictions.
Since spouses, relatives, teachers and concerned citizens fall under the third party category, the measure is said to undermine particularly the constitutional rights of parents and families to raise children in moral rectitude.The proposed Integrated Population and Development Act also contains controversial terminology. Even the U.S. president Bush administration said its words could be construed as promoting abortion, making reference to the terms "reproductive health services" and "reproductive rights", which also figured into the final declarations of the United Nations Population Conference held in Cairo in 1994. (SE)
