“The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”
— Article 2, section 6 of the Philippine Constitution“No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof… No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.”
— Article 3, section 5 of the Philippine Constitution
In the Philippines, the separation of church and state is in danger.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) continues to meddle in politics, most recently with their blackmail of politicians who support the Reproductive Health Bill.
Not only do they impede reproductive education, they set it back by spreading unfounded lies and misinformation.
The CBCP has also opposed the Magna Carta of Women, which has recently been endangered by another religious group, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP).
The CEAP wants to exempt Catholic schools from a provision that protects the rights of unwed mothers from discrimination.
The Filipinos for Secular Government group was formed for those who have had enough of the Church interfering in matters of the State.
If these priests want to influence the government let them run for public office. But until they do, let us remind them to keep out of it.
Please support us by joining our Facebook group and inviting others to join as well. Let’s keep Church and State separate!
Sorry, Red Tani. Active members of the priesthood should NEVER be allowed to run for public office because this destroys the very foundation of the Philippine Constitution.
If excommunication is used to blackmail modern educated Filipino politicians, then the Philippines is still in the Middle Ages. This is hard to believe happening in the 21st century.
What has the Catholic Church ever accomplished in the Philippines, anyway? They never contributed in the country's prosperity. They are supposed to be the source and guardians of morality but there is nothing to brag about. Instead they meddle in the affairs of the state. I say the Catholic Church should step back and look at its track record in the Philippines. 400 years or so of catholicism never produced anything that is helpful to the country's welfare. (Please don't tell me they saved many, many Filipino souls).
Let me get this right. Are you saying that priests should be limited in their exercise of free speech just because they belong to the Catholic Church or from any other church for that matter?
Blackmails of Excommunication doesn’t count as free speech as well as threats of burning in hell.
Free speech is freedom to express one's opinion. Extortion or intimidation is not.
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