WASHINGTON, D.C. (23 July 2008) – In a move that is capturing the attention of the pro-life world, Catholic bishops in the Philippines are leading massive resistance against the culture of death by holding a nationwide rally July 25. The Church-led movement is swiftly gaining momentum to fight a bill that would usher birth control, sex education and, eventually, abortion into the Philippines.
"This is inspiring," said Judie Brown, president of American Life League. "These bishops are leading Catholics in a crusade that will mean life or death for millions of people. May their fight ignite our American bishops to take up their staffs to fight the evil – the abortive assault on children and families – that permeates our world."
On the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae, which condemned artificial birth control, Filipino priests, nuns, seminarians and laity will rally en masse against the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008.
The legislation would create a new agency called the Commission on Population, which would institutionalize artificial birth control, implement sex education for students as early as the fifth grade and pave the way for legalized abortion.
The rally is the latest strike against the population-control legislation in a country that is 85 percent Catholic. Bishops are denying the Eucharist to politicians who favor the anti-life legislation as well as advising voters that a politician's stance on population control should form the basis of their voting decisions.
The executive director of the Filipino bishops' Commission for Family and Life, Fr. Melvin Castro, stated that the bill, if passed, would promote "laxity of morality" and the culture of death in the Philippines, according to Life Site News.
American Life League was co-founded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to death. For more information or media inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- Catholic World News: Philippines: Bishops Locked in Political Battle on Contraception (21 July 2008)
- Pacific News Center: Philippine Politicians Bow to Church Pressure on Population Bills (22 July 2008)
- Inquirer.net: Bishop Still Won't Give Communion to 'Anti-Life' Politicians (18 July 2008)
- Inquirer.net: Army of Priests Ordered to Talk to 50 Lawmakers (18 July 2008)