| COUPLES
FOR CHRIST FOUNDATION FOR FAMILY
& LIFE EUROPE
(CFC-FFL Europe)
Statement
On HB5043
We,
the members of Couples for Christ
Foundation for Family and Life
in Europe (CFC-FFL Europe) are
very distressed about the contents
of the Reproductive Health Bill
currently being discussed by the
Congress of the Philippines. Many
of us in CFC-FFL Europe were born
and raised in the Philippines,
and still consider it our homeland,
although we are currently living
abroad. Others of us are Europeans
who have developed an emotional
bond with the Philippines, due
to the love and regard which our
Filipino brethren rightly have
for their motherland. We see how
the Culture of Death is running
rampant in Europe, and as a result,
there is so little respect for
God, for the Church, for the family,
for sexuality— Europe has
exchanged Christianity for secularism,
and is now at serious risk of
eventual annihilation because
its citizens are aggressively
contracepting and aborting themselves
out of existence. WE DON’T
WANT THIS FOR THE PHILIPPINES!!
One
of the greatest Filipino treasures
is strong family ties, built upon
fidelity to God and the sacrament
of marriage. We consider life
a tremendous gift from God, even
in the presence of poverty. We
know that individually and corporately,
we have fallen short of God’s
call for sanctity, and yet we
know that just as He does not
abandon us, we must never abandon
Him. But that is exactly what
we would be doing if we accept
legislation such as HB5043—we
would be turning from God to worship
the idols of the West, and opening
the Philippines to the plethora
of evils that come from enacting
laws which originate with an anti-life
mentality. We know this is true
because we see it all around us
in the dying cultures of Europe.
WE DON’T WANT THIS FOR THE
PHILIPPINES!!
In
unity with our physical and spiritual
brethren in the Philippines, we
in CFC-FFL Europe want to express
our conviction that Reproductive
Health Bill HB5043 is bad legislation--
it is bad for the Philippines
and bad for Filipinos. Although
many of the items mentioned in
the bill may sound harmless on
the surface, we believe (based
on the experience of other formerly
pro-life countries) that these
same points of law would later
be used as a wedge by anti-life
forces to drive a crack, and then
eventually an irreparable breach,
in the rights which are currently
enshrined in the Constitution
of the Philippines, such as the
equal protection of the life of
the mother and the life of the
unborn from conception; the right
of spouses to found a family in
accordance with their religious
convictions and the demands of
responsible parenthood; and the
natural and primary right and
duty of parents in the development
of the moral character of their
children, to name just a few.
We agree that “the path
of irresponsible legislation is
a dreadful path: If an act is
made legal, it will be perceived
as moral. If an act is perceived
as moral, it will become a norm.
If it is observed by all as a
norm, then it is too late. By
then, you will have changed the
culture. That is not simply reckless.
It is the ultimate breach of public
trust.” (Attorney Jo Imbong)
WE DON’T WANT THIS FOR THE
PHILIPPINES!!
Although
we are currently living thousands
of miles away from the Philippines,
we in CFC-FFL Europe want to unite
our hearts and actions with our
brethren--clergy and laity, politicians
and constituents--who are fighting
the passage of HB5043. We have
committed ourselves to offer a
Novena of prayer and sacrifice
to help fortify the Culture of
Life in the Philippines against
this thinly veiled attack. With
trust in God, and accompanied
by our Blessed Mother, we pray:
“Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as
it is in Heaven.”
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