Catholic Church officials do not consider divorce law reform a priority for the country despite a push by women’s groups to see changes passed by the Philippine Congress.

A bill proposing the legalization of divorce was re-filed in the House of Representatives this week by the Gabriela Women’s Party.

Backers say the bill will allow “married couples in irreparable marriages another legal remedy that they can resort to in addition to the country’s existing laws on legal separation and annulment.”

But Bishop Deogracias Iniguez of Kalookan, the bishops’ conference’s Public Affairs Committee chairman, explained Church opposition to the proposed law.

“Absolute divorce is and will remain against the teaching and morality of Catholic Church,” he said.

Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who heads the conference’s National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal National, meanwhile, asked “What will children get?” He also questioned how many times divorce would be allowed.

The Church leaders say divorce will destroy the fiber of the family, society’s basic unit.

"The greatest problem is for the children. We may have a generation without parents. Why open the door to a threat to morality?" asked Father Francis Lucas, head of the Episcopal Commission on Social Communication and Mass Media.

He believes legalizing divorce could usher in a lifestyle where commitment is no longer valued. The proposed bill is like a "Pandora’s Box" that will bring about other problems, he said.

But Elizabeth Angsioco, national chair of the NGO Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines, told ucanews.com she supports the bill.

“Many women I know who want to separate from their husbands … want to be released from an abusive relationship.”

She rejected claims that it would lead to an unraveling of the family. “We don’t have legal divorce now, but marriages have been breaking left and right if you look around you,” Angsioco said.

“I believe God is a kind and understanding Father who would not wish his child to stay in a relationship in which somebody is being violated,” she added.

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