Download
Pastoral Statementon the Cairo International Conferenceon Population and Development
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
Greetings of Love and Life from the Lord!
Cairo. For most Filipinos it is only the name of Egypt’s capital. But come September, 1994, it will be theplace where representatives of various nations, gathered for the International Conference on Populationand Development, will make decisions that will deeply influence family life throughout the world and thusthe future of humanity. There are deep and well-founded forebodings that this influence will not bepositive — it can be a betrayal of humanity. Decisions and resolutions may be made there that willpromote a radical change in the concept of what a family is, foster sexual license among the unmarried,and open even wider avenues to the evil of abortion.
Because of the importance of this Conference, we have deemed it necessary to write a letter to ourPresident regarding the Philippine representatives to the Conference and the stand which they, as ourpeople’s representatives, should uphold.
We have asked our government to let us know the identity of our country’s delegates, the criteriaaccording to which they were chosen, and, more importantly, the positions they have been instructed touphold. We have also requested the President to hear our opinion on the delegates our government isthinking to send.
The President already knows well the Catholic position against direct contraception, direct sterilizationand direct abortion. For this particular conference, in solidarity with the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II,we have deemed it especially necessary to ask that our representatives to Cairo present positions thatare consonant with our Constitution, our culture, and the religious heritage of the overwhelming majorityof our people.
In particular, we asked:
That, in harmony with our Constitution and our Family Code, they uphold and defend thesanctity of the family, founded on marriage between a man and a woman, as the basic unit ofsociety;
That they present a consistently pro-life stance, uphold the value of human life and children, anddefend the right to life of every individual, from conception to its natural end. We expect them tobe uncompromising against direct abortion and point out that in our Constitution, the State ismandated to “equally protect the life of the mother and the unborn from conception” (Art. 2, Sec.12). A society that does not protect its weakest but kills them is a dehumanized society;That they also uphold the truth that marriage is the only morally legitimate setting for the exerciseof the sexual act and the procreation of children, andThat they uphold the primacy of persons over things, of being over having. The worth of a personis not measured by what he/she has but by his/her capacity to give of self in service.
We emphatically asked that our representatives represent our country in Cairo as free people whoprophetically witness to the truths that humanize and to reject that type of imperialism which subjugatesand determines the future of peoples by money.
We call on you, our people, to bear witness to Christian family values in your daily living and to pray andfast fervently that in this family year, those same values may indeed be defended and triumph in Cairo.May the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph defend us from evil and help obtain for us life in itsfullness.
For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:(Sgd.)
+CARMELO D.F. MORELOS, D.D.
Bishop of Butuan
President, CBCPJuly 10, 1994
Tagaytay City
http://www.cbcponline.net/documents/1990s/1994-pop_devt.html
