A Phillipine Senator has written a letter to her Bishop asking not to be excommunicated for her support of a “contraceptive bill.”
I don’t know if the Bishop should excommunicate her for supporting the bill, but he should probably do it over the letter. It is kind of like asking the principal not expel you for foul language by writing a letter that says “Please don’t @#$%! expel me!”
In a Friday letter to Bishop Nereo Odchimar, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago defended the proposed legislation as a way to “liberate the poor from social, political, and economic oppression.
“If I were to be excommunicated, I would be expelled from the Church, more particularly from the Eucharist. I would thus be placed in the same category as those guilty of so-called serious sins, such as apostasy, murder, heresy, and adultery. [There is a reason for that.] I plead that I am not guilty of mortal sin,” [I swear officer, that guy stepped right in front of my bullet.] her letter continued, according to ABS-CBN News.
Citing Church teaching that mortal sin is “a fundamental rejection of God and a reorientation of one’s whole life away from all that is good and just,” Sen. Defensor-Santiago described herself as “a strong advocate of social justice, particularly the anti-corruption crusade.” [So I am against corruption, everything else is negotiable]
The senator said she had been taught to implement “liberation theology,” which in her view means that believers achieve salvation by liberating the poor from oppression. [Yawn]
“This is what I am trying to do with my bill,” she added.
She stated “respectfully” that the penalty of excommunication for bill supporters would be “too extreme and disproportionate” and will raise constitutional issues about the church-state relationship. [Is that a threat?]
The senator also challenged Catholic teaching on contraception reiterated in Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical “Humane Vitae.”
“I am humbly but morally convinced that the arguments for contraception are superior,” she said. [Gotcha, adios!]
Her letter repeated many common objections of those who dissent from “Humanae Vitae.” She cited disagreement on the commission which advised Pope Paul VI and claimed opponents of the Philippines bill “fail to recognize the evolutionary character of Church teaching.” She also said that natural law theory is “already obsolete.” [Church teaching has to evolve. I mean its not like Jesus, living 2000 years ago if he lived at all, could have foreseen our challenges today. Its not like he is God or something. I mean, Jesus, get with the times already!]
Defensor-Santiago also cited the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom, which says no one should be forced to act “in a manner contrary to one’s conscience” or should be restrained from acting in accord with one’s conscience.
Natural law obsolete. The arguments for contraception are ‘superior.’ Liberation theology.
If nothing else, she should be excommunicated for being boring. Then again, I suppose there is no such thing as an original heretic.
So tell me now. Who here finds the tactic “I will shoot one hostage every hour until I am acquitted of these ridiculous murder charges,” to be an effective argument?
Buh-bye.
October 4, 2010 at 5:31 am
On the one hand we have politicians who worry that the island of Guam will tip over if there are too many troops there. On the other hand the Phillipines has a Senator that spouts the drivel you cited.
Just who got the really stupid ones, them, us or is it possible there is a country with worse? Kinda blows the whole "evolving from the apes" thingy, even monkeys can't be this dumb.
October 4, 2010 at 6:50 am
The whole letter she wrote alone is proof enough why she should be officially declared to be excommunicated. She has pretty clearly declared that she is rejecting a whole swath of catholic teaching.
October 4, 2010 at 7:54 am
Why do the progressives always omit the word informed before conscience? Is it intentional or are they really that clueless.
October 4, 2010 at 10:19 am
If I were Bishop Odchimar, I would probably just send her an email: Madam Senator, you are heretofore being excommunicated. A wall to wall Facebook PM would be just as fine.
October 4, 2010 at 11:17 am
As someone who has traveled to Philippines many times (my wife was born there) I am familiar with the situation there concerning contraceptives. Contraceptives are available, though practically no one uses them. Contrary to what the Progressives would have us believe, AIDS is not a problem in that country and teenage pregnancy is almost unheard of.
Of course, most of the people there are poor but this is more the result of wide spread government corruption rather than "over population".
October 4, 2010 at 12:48 pm
The Philippine population density is around 300 per SQ Km, a far cry from its rich neighbor Singapore who has 7,100 per SQ Km. What they see as "overpopulation" is actually overcrowding in the depressed areas in the cities – a result of a defective economic policy through the years that provides minimal development for the countryside. At any rate, the TFR trend is inexorably going down, with or without the passage of the controversial RH bill.
Even the UN Population development Foundation predicts that the country Total Fertility Rate will reach below replacement levels in just 15 years time. All these talk about overpopulation is a canard and we Filipinos hope to be liberated from this as well as from the likes of Senator Santiago. I think that is what true 'liberation theology' is all about.
I think the good Senator researched all her data from the National Catholic Reporter.
October 4, 2010 at 1:40 pm
WillyJ,
You hit upon a situation that few people (elite or otherwise) talk about much. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of the world is in a free-fall. The CIA Factbook has the global TFR at about 2.55; thrity years ago it was twice that. And while many nations (namely those in Central Africa) still have TFRs well above the replacement levels, the rate of increase are slowing with each passing year.
It is quite amazing that no one seems to worry about this trend. In Mexico the TFR is about 2.25. But 30 years ago it was over 5. In South America the TFR has been dropping for years. In most nations the TFR is only half of what it was 40 years ago. In the US the TFR is about 2.0, but if you subtract immigrants (both legal and illegal) it is only about 1.7 per female.
Catholic nations have some of the lowest TFR's in the world. The use of artificial contraception by Catholics worldwide is probably one of the biggest moral failures by our priests and bishops in recent times. And very soon we shall all see the material effects of a world populated with mainly the elderly.
October 4, 2010 at 2:03 pm
This letter is clearly a CYA move. She's just trying to have something in print to show that when (not if but when) she is ex-communicated she became a victim of the unyielding and uncompassionate Hierarchy of the Church (blahdy blah blah!)
Nothing abhors me more than liberals who are self professed and self induced victims…
October 4, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I teach ESL to mostly Mexicans- we did a little exercise- the average student's mom had 7 kids. The average student has 2 kids (maybe it ended up being 2.5)- so even with immigration (legal in my class's case) we are in trouble! I wish it were as easy as my nice, Catholic homeschooling friends having at least 4 kids- but we are a very small group (we like to kid ourselves other wise)
October 4, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Willy J is right on the money:
"The use of artificial contraception by Catholics worldwide is probably one of the biggest moral failures by our priests and bishops in recent times. And very soon we shall all see the material effects of a world populated with mainly the elderly."
Yes, yes, yes.
This excellent article at Weekly Standard comes to mind.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/america%E2%80%99s-one-child-policy
October 4, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago simply needs better catechesis. Hence she'd know that whether or not a bishop pronounces that she's excommunicated has nothing to do with whether or not she actually is. It's the amount of scandal she brings that should bring about the wake-up call via pronouncement.
…oh, and don't taze me bro!!
October 4, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I am humbly but morally convinced that the arguments for contraception are superior
Just shows how humbly and morally clueless she is.
October 8, 2010 at 9:07 am
I quite remember that she said in the past that she studied theology (maybe a crash course). I bet her teachers were as confused as she is. Then again, we have learned how to ignore or laugh at her and then take the contrary position as the correct one.