FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Filipino Freethinkers Condemns the Denial of Eucharist to Supporters of the Reproductive Health Bill; Asks Catholic Supporters of the RH Bill to Oppose Church “Terrorism”
Contact: [email protected]
(Feb. 20, 2011) Manila, Philippines – The Filipino Freethinkers (FF) condemns in the strongest possible terms Santuario de San Jose and all other parishes in the Philippines that deny the Holy Communion to Catholic supporters of the Reproductive Health Bill.
By denying communion to Catholics who even feel that they are in support of the RH Bill, the Catholic Church leadership is continuing in its shameless campaign of demonizing all who disagree with them.
Their systematic efforts to silence any opposition within their own ranks through threats, guilt, and intimidation are antithetical to the virtues of love, forgiveness, and humility that they claim to espouse. It is regrettable that those who suffer most from this policy are their own fellow conscientious Catholics who would otherwise wish to stand with them before the altar at Mass.
The Filipino Freethinkers have on numerous occasions personally witnessed and documented the outright hostility that Catholic Church leaders and champions continually show toward their supposed brethren.
They have shouted insults at RH-Bill supporting Catholic mothers, driving them away and declaring them Satan on the very steps of Manila Cathedral.
Against all rules of professional decorum and common decency, legislators in the Catholic Church’s thrall have openly laughed at the group Catholics for the RH Bill during congressional hearings, shouting that no true Catholic can be in support of the Bill.
Individuals wearing the Catholics for the RH Bill t-shirt have been repeatedly escorted out of Sunday Mass from parishes in and outside Metro Manila.
Thus, we call on all Catholics who support the passage of the Reproductive Health to voice out their highest opposition to this latest act of emotional terrorism and hostility by the Church, and to demand that their parishes stop persecuting their brothers and sisters who seek nothing but true social justice in the country.
[…] [44] Salaverria, Leila, et al. “OZAMIZ ARCHBISHOP SAYS: ‘Anti-life pols must be refused communion’.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080714-148259/Anti-life-pols-must-be-refused-communion; Tordesillas, Ellen. “CBCP may adopt no-communion ban policy to pro-abortion politicians.” http://www.ellentordesillas.com/2008/07/15/cbcp-adopts-no-communion-ban-policy-to-pro-abortion-politicians/; “Filipino Freethinkers Condemns the Denial of Eucharist to Supporters of the Reproductive Health Bill; Asks Catholic Supporters of the RH Bill to Oppose Church ‘Terrorism’” Filipino Freethinkers. https://filipinofreethinkers.org/2011/02/20/press-release-on-santuario-de-san-jose/ […]
Don’t wear this shirt and go to mass or do not go to mass altogether. The Catholic Church vehemently opposes any form of contraception. So, if you do support contraception then that’s not being Catholic. You can’t have it both ways.
In the same manner you cannot be Catholic and support same-sex marriage and divorce.
If it means that you renounce your faith – our being Roman Catholic – then so be it. You can be good to your fellowman without religion. Do good for the good of society and not to please a divine supreme being.
Thanks for the helpful info! I would not have discovered this on my own!
>UP Student, I therefore appeal to your sense of integrity. If you truly and firmly believe that the Catholic Church is wrong, then leave the Church and live with that decision. If you are afraid of the repercussions of your actions, then the noble thing to do is to shut up.
It has not been a long time since I learned how to surf the net. The first site I got to was owned by a Filipino call center and it’s really as good as this one!
I was raised from a devoted catholic family i served the church for some time in my life. The time that i got pregnant and got married inisp ko agad kung anu ang mga dapat gawin pag anjan na ang anak ko, di kelangang mag tanga tangahan sa mga consequences pag nabuntis ako ulit and so i had to talk to my husband and make a concrete plan sa maging pamilya namin para di kami mahirapan pag dating ng future.One major thing is the family planning. After kung manganak i know na what to do so nagpalagay ako ng IUD coz yun ang nakikita kung hiyang sa akin. Tell me, ibig sabhin ba nito kinokundena ako ng dyos dahil sa napili kung method? well i dont think so, kasi para sa akin bilang isang babae me karapatan akong alagaan ang health ko to the fullest and live an active sex life at the same time at para makapag hanap buhay para sa mga bills at makapag save para sa kinabukasan ng pamilya namin. If ang sagot ng simbahan sa akin is yes kukundinahin ako ng dyos sa aking pagpapalagay ng IUD then let me ask u this. Sino ba kayo to judge me at e judge at ang mga babae at mamamayan na pabor sa RH BILL? Dyos ba kayo?? sa inyo ba kami haharap pag namatay kami?? Ang pag husga nyo ba ang aking kailangan?? HOW DARE YOU palibhasa di nyo kasi nasubukan magka anak at magka asawa at magkapamilya at kumayod ng kumayod para magtrabaho. Napakadamot nyo at mga hipokrito kayong lahat. Nagkaron pa tayo ng demokrasya kung ipagdadamot samin ang aming kalayaang mamili, para kayong mga kumunista kung magpatupad ng rules. Kung ayaw nyo ipatupad ang RH BILL e di gumawa kayo ng mga eskwelahan na libre na pang hangang kolehiyo para sa mga pamilyang me mga anak na 4 o hangang isang dosena ka tao, tapos pakainin nyo ang mga pamilyang yan na libre at bigyan nyo narin ng libreng livelihood ang mga magulang..magpakitang gilas kayo kung talagang nagmamalasakit kayo sa utos ng dyos.. pero alam ko di nyo kayang gawin yan, sarap kasi ng mga buhay nyo e, naka aircon ang mga kwarto nyo at sarap ng mga kinakain nyo at me sasakyan pa kayo, bindisyon nga lang ng bungalow na bahay 500 pesos ka agad at ibang price pag dos andanas na bahay at eto e sheshare ko lang sa lahat ang isa pang hinanakit ko sa simbahan. Ngayong kasi pati yung pagalay ko ng misa buwan buwan sa mga namatay kung mga kamag anak pinag iinitan nyo pa, ang mass offering for souls e me presyo na din, 50 pesos daw per kaluluwa..SINO GINAGAGO NILA? nakaka shock dahil pati kaluluwa pinagkikitaan pa and i know for sure na kahit anung amount ang donation kahit piso pa yan. E ang dami kong mga patay na na kamag anak at ayaw kung me e d-drop ako sa listahan ko dahil lang sa singil nila but i always tell them na eto lang ang amount na kaya ko at di ko kaya ang amount na hinihingi nyo..so to make this short dismayado ako sa inyong mga nasa simbahan and it made me realized na all of you ay HINDI TAPAT SA INYONG BOKASYON. as of now im thinking to leave the church dahil sa inyo at panginoon nalang ang humusga sa akin.
I completely agree with you, that's why I am for the RH bill.
E di walang kumonyon!! Honestly matagal na akong di nag kokomonyun, hindi dahil wala akong kumpisal kundi dahil it is considered so sacred to me at ayaw kung maguilty sa sarili ko if i eat the symbol of body of christ na hindi malinis ang mismong mga bibig ko dahil i always use it to blow my man's manhood every now and then when im feeling sexy. I dont know kung anu na paniniwalaan ko basta alam ko na wala akong sinagasaang ibang tao at bokasyon ko ang pamilya ko and iam dedicated to it. Its my choice kung di ako magkokomunyon and choice din ng ibang mga katoliko kung magkokomunyon sila o hindi.
Two comments: (1) the pro-life advocates will probably condemn you for mass murder every single time you feel sexy and use your mouth to "blow your man's manhood". (2) if they do condemn you, you can always use holy water as a mouthwash to cleanse your mouth and be able to receive communion. 😉
actually, isis, this reminds me of our kasambahay’s plight years back, when i was still in college (mga late 90’s). she was denied communion by the local priest because she was ligated. she had 3 kids by then and she and her fisherman husband cannot afford to have more. she was, in her mind, being responsible. she even credited our family for enlightening her on these matters. ang nakapagtataka, paano nalaman nung pari na ligated sya?! until now, wala akong kasagutan dyan. and after the embarrassment of being denied communion, our kasambahay was, like, bakit, alam ba ni father kung gaano kahirap para sa amin na itaguyod ang aming pamilya? pwede naman akong maging mabuting tao, saka maniwala sa Dyos kahit wala pa yang komunyon nya. amen, sister, amen.
The RCC religion was and is famous in sowing the seeds of fear to it's believer since time immemorial. The concept of god and his punishments,heaven and hell which could not be proven that it exist and now deprive it's parishioner their basic rights under the constitution, their freedom of choice? no wonder the RCC is ruled by a NAZI right now .
Another analogy, my children wish to stay up all night playing and making noise and disturbing the neighbors. My rules of the household state that my children should be asleep by 9pm. Then someone totally outside my family calls me an abusive father, a terrorist of children, and we need to fight for the right of the children to be able to stay up past 9pm.
I would rightly tell these people they are overstepping their bounds, that they have a lot of nerve to tell me how to run my family, and lastly to GO TO HELL!
Oh dear jove, stop with the melodrama already. Nobody's telling YOU how to run YOUR family.
If your kids don't listen to you and you threaten to not give them any food until they start playing by your rules, I won't even bother to telling you how to discipline your kids, I'll report you directly to Bantay-Bata for child abuse.
Your analogy doesn't make sense on so many levels. What if the kids are the ones who are behaving more responsibly and its the parents that are forcing their children to commit heinous acts by threatening them with starvation? That would be a more apt analogy given the church's denial of communion.
(2nd part of 2)
Talk about trampling on the rights of people to organize and run their own institutions. These people aren't for freedom of anything. They are for freedom of trampling the rights of others. Free thinkers? No, I say idiot Filipino Society…
For a group that puts itself off as being logical and rational, I find this article insanely stupid and devoid of logic. That's right, not just stupid, INSANELY stupid. The situation described is the same as a scenario in which a league stats, "if a baseball player lends his support to the legalization of steroids, he should be banned from playing in the league". And guess what? The league has its own rules and regulations and has the right to enforce its ''beliefs'' for those who belong to it and wish to remain in it. It's complete and utter hubris for anyone who does not belong to the said league to feel that they have the right to legislate as if they were sitting on the board of directors. In fact, its even worse and illogical for those who have nothing to do with the league, no interest in the sport, and even are "anti"-sports to care how the league is run.
(continued…)
Dear All,
Please be reminded that in any organization, there are rules that must be followed. If a person claims to be a part of that organization, s/he must follow the rules. If s/he does not like the rules, then s/he must have the integrity to leave the organization.
The Roman Catholic Church considers the Holy Eucharist as Jesus' greatest gift to humankind. It has the obligation to protect this gift from sacrilege. I therefore stand behind Santuario de San Jose in the fulfillment of its job.
For those who are in an uproar against this, please feel free to leave the One True Church and join any of the thousands of fly-by-night churches out there that will accept your warped thinking.
Sincerely,
ANDRES RUBEN WONG
UP Diliman
College of Engineering 1980
Wong, thank you for collectively calling every progressive Catholic out there – those who actually try to be decent, responsible human beings sans the insufferable dogma your kind loves to brandish – as having a "warped" sense of thinking.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/
Bravo, my friend, bravo.
you are very welcome, twin skies. now, may i recommend that you and your progressive 'catholics' ('fakers' is more appropo) join the iglesia ni kristo. they are for contraception and legalized killing of babies by abortion. best of luck. may the good lord and savior jesus christ have mercy on your souls.
You mean there's a chance Jesus won't show mercy for their souls? That's not very Christian of him.
>garrick b., no one, especially me, should claim to know to whom our lord will grant mercy. i merely pray that jesus will, considering how much they are offending our lord.
the peace of christ be with you.
@Wong
First of all, the RH Bill has been very specific in explaining that it is against abortions, and that abortions will remain illegal even after it's been made into law.
I'd personally say we should legalize them as a necessary evil under specific circumstances, but that's besides my point.
As for joining INC, probably not either. I consider their religious beliefs to be as silly as any other, regardless of their stance on Reproductive Health. Their bloc voting scheme, for example, defeats the whole point of a democracy,.
https://filipinofreethinkers.org/2010/05/12/iglesi…
Goodbye and good luck to you too, and may FSM touch you deeply with his noodley appendages 🙂
>twin skies, am glad you brought up the insidious fact that the rh bill does not say it is promoting abortion. little do many people realize that contraception is the slippery slope to abortion. in short, the rh bill is paving the way to abortion. that is the modus operandi of the billion-dollar abortion industry called planned parenthood.
look at the u.s.a. after the non-catholic christians which make up 90% of americans put their stamp of approval on contraception back in the 1960s, guess what happened in 1973? roe vs wade legalized baby-killing in america.
now am thankful to jesus that the u.s. congress has recently and finally put a stop to funding that horrid murderous organization.
therefore, let me repeat what i have been telling all my filipino friends:
rh bill = rp death.
may our lord jesus grant you his peace as he helps you realize this.
LOL, you do realize that this imaginary slippery slope leading to abortion has absolutely no basis in the RH Bill? In fact, it specifically promotes a responsible sex education program that among others, includes topics on the *hazards* of abortion. Tell me honestly, have you actually even read the RH Bill you are so keen on blocking?
Actually, its the people from PROLIFE Philippines that are actively promoting abortion. Sad but true, them's the cold, hard facts… video here clearly shows those PROLIFERS actually *screaming* for mothers to abort their children: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdRDq9bcpBQ&fe…
LOL! and who made this video? hmmm? anyway, wes, you have the right to stay in whatever cocoon you are in. all i am offering is a ray of light, a breath of the fresh air of truth. it is all up to you to take it or leave it. am now leaving this discussion thread. i thank you all for takiing note my comment posted 15 hours ago. i pray for your enlightenment and i wish you all the peace of our lord and savior jesus christ.
God made this video and posted it on YouTube.
And another classic case of poisoning the well.
Sure, we recorded the video, but we didn't script Mr. Manalang to screech like a monkey on crack as he attempted to cast Satan out of our members.
We didn't pay any of the Anti-RH people onsite to hurl those invectives – we prefer to spend the cash on good coffee and beer ;).
That was all them, revealing to everybody just how fucked up they really are. All we did was catch a video of these people in the act.
>twin skies, am glad you brought up the insidious fact that the rh bill does not say it is promoting abortion. little do many people realize that contraception is the slippery slope to abortion. in short, the rh bill is paving the way to abortion. that is the modus operandi of the billion-dollar abortion industry called planned parenthood.
look at the u.s.a. after the non-catholic christians which make up 90% of americans put their stamp of approval on contraception back in the 1960s, guess what happened in 1973? roe vs wade legalized baby-killing in america.
now am thankful to jesus that the u.s. congress has recently and finally put a stop to funding that horrid murderous organization.
therefore, let me repeat what i have been telling all my filipino friends:
rh bill = rp death.
may our lord jesus grant you his peace as he helps you realize the above truth.
Wong, that;s all you have apparently, a slippery slope argument. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope
Long-term studies have already proven that while comprehensive Reproduction programs may spark an increase in abortion in their first few years, these incidences decrease overall in the long run.
http://www.internationalfamilyplanningperspective…
As for the United States, yes, we've all heard, and from what I hear, a lot of people, namely women, are royally pissed off at the Republican party for that latest act of stupidity.
They have yet to explain how exactly cutting funding to Planned Parenthood will somehow stop unwanted pregnancies, and by connection, abortions, when abortions are only a small fraction of the services these PP centers do.
A good portion of their resources go into sex education, post and pre-natal care, contraceptives education, among other things. In short, the GOP has just cockblocked a service that was meant to prevent unwanted abortions in the first place.
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/planned%20pare…
Now can you kindly tell us the logic in that move?
As for blaming Non-Catholic Christians for promoting abortions, we can see through your bullshit quite easily – a quick look at some of the worst and loudest Pro-Life idiots in America are affiliated with various Non-Catholic Christian denominations. Pat Robertson, Ann Coulter ring a bell?
LOL! and who made all these "researches" you are referring to? hmmmm? LOL!
as i have written to wes (see below), you are entitled to believe what you want to believe, to live in whatever cocoon you are in. am now leaving this discussion thread. i pray for your enlightenment and i wish you the peace of out lord and savior jesus christ.
btw, if you wish to discuss about the legitimacy of the roman catholic church as the one true church, start a new thread ok? but only when you've finished reading about church history, especially before 1054 a.d.. peace out!
Let me get this straight:
You, as a self-proclaimed member of a religious organization that has the self-entitled delusion of claiming itself to be more "legit" than any other Christian sects out there, are accusing us of circular reasoning?
XD XD XD XD
Can I please ask – Are you a Poe?
The less people in the "One True Church" the better! Please, progressive Catholics! Leave the "One True Church!" Why do you want to stay there anyway? Nobody can tell you what to believe. If you are a true Catholic and you truly believe in Jesus and God and all that, NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE CHURCH, CAN TAKE THAT AWAY FROM YOU! I didn't need anybody's permission to leave the Church and become a Buddhist. You certainly do not need anyone's permission to worship your God. The path we choose is ours alone to take – no one can walk it for us, all the religious leaders in the world can do it for us.
dear pinoybuddhist,
you are truly buddhist in thinking. but that is not the christian spirituality. our lord and savior jesus christ founded one (not one thousand) church, not to be mere decoration in humankind's history, but for a great purpose: to preserve and protect the entirety of his gospel of being the only way, truth and life. you are free to accept or reject that. good luck.
@Mr. Wrong…Err I mean Wong…
Pick a number and get in line.
You've just said almost exactly the same thing that representatives from those thousands of other Christians have told us when they came in here claiming to be the only true path to God.
"We are the only way, blah-blah-blah, all other denominations are not true, blah-blah-blah."
What makes your particular brand of rambling any more legitimate than the others?
lol! this time, you take a number. the "wong" jokes are as old as methuselah. anyway, my 'ramblings' will become legitimate in your eyes when you are done studying church history which all non-catholics avoid. pls adv when you are ready to discuss. thanks and god bless!
And please adv when you learn to spell properly. Your grammar is blasphemous.
Oh I have already rejected it; you don't need to tell me that I'm free to do so.B)
Opus Dei Alert.
Wongarg: I agree with your assertion that any organization has its own set of rules and that any member who disagrees with these is free to leave it. What most catholics disagree with, however, is the church leaders' incessant meddling in affairs outside of its organization, like the state! It's one thing to make its members toe the line when it concerns organizational issues, and another to impose its will on the general public. Our church leaders' moralizing becomes a big, fat joke when they themselves violate their own teachings (pcso scandals, bishop bacani's sexual harassment case, that Agusan priest accused of rape, etc.) and subsequently sweep them under the rug.
I think that, yes, freethinkers have a stake in promoting freedom of choice with people, including Catholics who support RH. But supporting their right to receive communion (read: right to eat their god Jesus' transmogrified flesh in the form of a biscuit)??? Sorry, freethinkers, but I don't understand it. Parang we're condoning that silly belief and practice. I think we should manifest our advocacy for freedom of choice with Catholics who support RH, not by rising up for their right to receive their communion, but rather by encouraging them to feel free to choose to remain with, or to opt out of, their church.
Observe a similar incident from 2008: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/106748/Bishop-hints-a…
["Pagdating sa CBCP … Mula ngayon lahat na kilalang pro-abortionists di bibigyan ng communion, ang simbahan sa buong Pilipinas ay di pwedeng bigyan ng communion ang taong yan. Pag punta niya sa ibang lugar bahala siya sa buhay niya (Once it reaches the CBCP and the CBCP deems the situation serious enough, it can declare that all pro-abortionists be denied communion. All churches in the Philippines are to deny them communion. They may have to try their luck abroad to get communion)," Cruz said in an interview on Church-run Radio
Veritas.]
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