Church reaffirms stance against same-sex marriage

MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Church has reaffirmed its teaching against same-sex marriage and maintained that the family can only be formed by a union between a man a woman.

Vatican spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi confirmed that gay marriage is part of what Pope Francis described as “ideological colonization” threatening the foundation of families.

“In part also, yes. There may be stronger demographical or political measures or a vision that diminishes the central place of the family in the society,” Lombardi said Friday night when asked if same-sex marriage was among the ideological colonizers that threaten to destroy families.

“I think it is well known that the perspective of the church about the family is the family is based on the union of marriage of man and woman,’” he added.

Lombardi stressed that the Church does not recognize other definitions of family, a term that has been modified in some countries due to gay rights movements and marriage equality laws. 

“The family is for us a union of man and woman and the children that come from this union. This is for us is the family. If there are person who decide to have community in other ways, this is not for us a family,” he said.

A predominantly Catholic country, the Philippines does not recognize same-sex marriages. Some activists, however, believe it’s about the time that the debate on whether to same-sex unions should be recognized legally.

In his meeting with families at the SM Mall of Asia Arena last Friday, Pope Francis said the family is being threatened by several forces including efforts to alter the meaning of marriage.

“The family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by the lack of openness to life,” the pontiff said.

“Our world needs good and strong families to overcome these threats,” he added.

Pope Francis said the effects of natural disasters, migration and financial problems also pose pressures to family life.

“The Philippines needs holy and loving families to protect the beauty and truth of the family in God’s plan and to be a support and example to other families,” he added.

Still against contraceptives

Meanwhile, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the church would continue to propagate the doctrines on the sacredness of life despite the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law. 

“Well we will continue preaching what the church teaches with or without the law. We will continue our mission,” Tagle said.

Tagle made the statement when asked what the church will do now that the RH Law, which seeks to provide access to artificial birth control methods, has hurdled Congress.

Pope Francis did not mention anything about the controversial measure during his encounter with families last Thursday but he emphasized the need to protect life in all its stages.

“Be sanctuaries of respect for life, proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death," the pope said.

"What a gift this would be to society if every Christian family lived fully its noble vocation," he added.

The controversial RH Law was approved by Congress in 2012 amid opposition by the Catholic church and pro-life groups who view it as a population control measure. President Aquino backed the passage of the measure and even certified it as urgent.

Opponents of the law argued that the economy would benefit from a young population as it would translate to robust human resources. They said the funds allotted to contraceptives should have been used for additional health workers and public hospitals.

RH Law critics also noted that some groups advocating the RH Law have ties with international organizations that offer abortion services.

RH Law supporters, however, insist that the measure would reduce maternal deaths and provide poor families access to all kinds of family planning methods. They also claimed that the measure would benefit couples who cannot afford to raise many children.

The law was challenged before the Supreme Court but it was declared constitutional in 2014. The high court, however, struck down some of its provisions including that which allowed minors to avail of family planning services without their parents’ consent if they experienced miscarriage.

Also declared unconstitutional was a provision that permitted the government to force private hospitals to refer patients to other institutions offering reproductive services.