GOVERNMENT ASSURES PUBLIC IT´S ANTI-ABORTION; CHURCH UNCONVINCED

The Philippine government has assured Catholic Church leaders that its delegation to the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in September will reject abortion.

But Philippine Catholic Church leaders are unconvinced. Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila called for a pro-life Marian rally on Aug. 14.

Cardinal Sin, in a letter to parents July 25, claimed "rich consumerist countries" are creating through the conference "a world of perversity (where) two homosexuals or two lesbians living together will be recognized as family."

With the Cairo conference, "every pregnant woman will have the right to kill the unborn child inside her womb ... (and) young innocents (will be) exposed to sexual propaganda in its most brutal form," the Manila prelate wrote.

A statement from the Department of Health (DOH) July 25 declared, "The Philippine delegation will go to Cairo united against abortion."

"We are against abortion," said undersecretary Jaime Galvez-Tan, DOH chief of staff. "DOH is mandated to protect the health and save the lives of our people."

Antonio de Los Reyes, president of the Council of the Laity of the Philippines (CLP), told UCA News July 23 that "not one pro-life proponent was included" among the 15 Philippine delegates to the Cairo conference.

Delegates include Health Secretary Juan Flavier, Secretary Cielito Habito of the National Economic and Development Authority, nine other government officials, three representatives of non-governmental organizations and one academician. The conference has been held every 10 years since 1974.

Church leaders urged the Philippine delegates to reject the 80-page Draft Program of Action for the conference, formulated April 23 by U.N. organizers and delegates of participating countries, including the Philippines.

De Los Reyes said the draft document for the Cairo conference promotes an "inordinate liberal lifestyle" that goes against Catholic faith and morals, sexual ethics, the sanctity of marriage and family and human life.

He claims the draft explicitly promotes "safe abortion" in the name of reproductive health, and empowers children and adolescents to "liberate themselves from the burden of parenthood through contraception and abortion."

It also "reduces conjugal love and marriage to a legal contract no longer between a woman and a man alone but free for all, even homosexuals," he said.

Another CLP official, Manny Arejola, said Flavier gave mixed signals.

"Flavier gave a very beautiful speech in New York (to the preparatory committee meeting in April) that he is against abortion," said Arejola. "But he said he is in favor of the draft."

Manila Vice Mayor Joselito Atienza told UCA News that he obtained from the Population Commission and the DOH a copy of Flavier´s statement sent July 25 to the U.N. preparatory committee. Atienza also heads Pro-Life Philippines.

In his statement, Flavier said "we share the same intents and purposes set forth in the principles of the draft program of action vis-a-vis population."

The principles he cited were development and human rights, society´s responsibility for human development, partnership in population, gender and equality, the family, reproductive rights and health and migration.

However, in the same statement, Flavier said the Philippine government "adheres to the constitutional provisions of protecting the rights of the unborn and therefore rejects abortion as a means of contraception."

Cardinal Sin invited parents to join priests, Religious, students and people from other professions in a rally at Rizal Park in Manila Aug. 14.

He said the rally will "make known to the president and his cabinet our indignation and outrage at the abuses allowed by the government against the family and our children."

"Wear something white or blue, something Marian, if possible, and in the company of Mary our Mother, join us in praying that our schools and our society will be rid of this moral evil that now pollutes our education and political systems," Cardinal Sin said.

END

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