Pnoy versus Padre Damaso

President Noynoy Aquino has recently announced that he is in favor on the use of birth control methods among couples who want to practice family planning.

He further stated that couples themselves are in the best position to determine what is best for their families and what methods they would apply whether it be artificial or natural method of birth control.

This latest announcement by the President on the subject of responsible parenthood drew the ire anew of the Catholic bishops who are strongly opposed on the idea of promoting both the artificial and natural birth control method on family planning instead of just only one method which is the natural method of birth control.

However, President Aquino appears not bothered by his pronouncement even by a threat of 'excommunicado' by the Catholic prelates and was not inclined to reconsider his stand on the issue.

I remember when I started this blog, I cited that one of the reasons why birth control program has failed in the past is the lack of funds and support coming from the previous administrations to effectively implement this program. But now, that it finally got its full backing from this new and present government and even appropriating funds for the project, a new setback again has cropped up but now with the opposition coming from no less but these Catholic bishops.

This program of family planning has been going on since way back of the Marcos regime but its implementation was not very much successful on the grounds cited above. These bishops should have come out a long time ago when the program is still in its offspring to air their dislike on the plan but why only now?

And where is the so-called "separation of state and church" as being taught in the secondary education. I think the duty of the Church is to merely provide spiritual guidance to its vast Filipino Catholic members on the issue of birth control.

It is now the chance of the government to make its move but why are they now mingling on the affairs of the State. Why not let the government do its part on where the church obviously failed as shown by several incidents of abandoning of babies and leaving unborn child right infront of Catholic churches. Are these bishops just saving their own faces and could not admit the fact that they have miserably failed on their spiritual guidance against pre-marital sex and on birth control?

I hope our President will not be coward by the threats of these bishops of making him 'excommunicado' from the Catholic church.