“Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution states that ‘No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights,’” stated Atty. Jemy Gatdula, who specializes in international economic law and natural law, and who writes a weekly column for Business World.
“This proceeds from the principles declared in Article II, Section 6 which declares that ‘The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.’ Read the two provisions carefully. There is nothing there that says citizens (including government officials) shouldn’t be guided by the tenets of their faith,” Gatdula pointed out in his blog.
The concept of “separation of Church and State” has too often been misunderstood to mean that moral principles have no place in the public square – that one’s religious convictions should be forgotten when making decisions concerning the community – when in fact, what it means is that no State religion shall be established, and that the State shall not force the people to [do anything that will make them go] against their religion.
“The Constitution, rather than discouraging religions, actually supports religions by mandating tolerance for all religions. Hence, the prohibition on discriminatory treatment against or preference for any single religion,” explained Gatdula, a lecturer on international trade law at the Ateneo de Manila and University of Asia & the Pacific.
“One reason the RH Bill is offensive is that it forces Catholics to support (through the duty to pay taxes) something that they believe is immoral. Note that there is no law banning the private use of contraceptives.”
If people behind the anti-life movement in the Philippines plan to take their cue from the United States (as has been reflected since the government’s family planning program was established during the Marcos regime in the late 1960s), the muzzling of Catholics and the imposition of the RH program should not be surprising.
Recent wave of opposition in the US
The Obama administration recently issued a birth control mandate requiring all employers to provide health insurance plans that cover contraceptives – including those that cause abortions. Under the new health-care law, all health-care plans are required to cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that cause abortions.
“The regulation has an exceedingly narrow exemption for ‘religious’ employers that would effectively cover only an actual parish church—but not a Catholic hospital, university, or charitable organization. Catholic individuals, Catholic business owners and Catholic insurers would be compelled by the mandate to act against the teachings of their church,” according to a report on Cybercast News Service.
Catholics have been strongly opposing the move, and Catholic priests during the past two Sundays have read letters from their local bishops pointing out the mandate as an attack on religious liberty, and called on Catholics to resist it.
Recently, other churches have openly declared their opposition to President Barack Obama’s contraception mandate, including the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), National Association of Evangelicals, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregation of America, Agudath Israel of America (another Jewish group), and Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America. (CBCP for Life)
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