CHURCH vs. STATE

In as much as I am a devout Catholic, meaning, I have my faith in tact, I still maintain that as an individual and a human being, God has given me the gift to be rational and to choose.

I have always believed that the Church (any church) should never meddle with the affairs of the state. Neither should they use the methods available in the church or disguise their meddling through religious exercises by justifying it through claims of moral issues contrary to religious doctrines and compel the devotees to join in their cause.

I had the shock of my life when I heard mass last Sunday and we were asked to pray the Oratio Imperata. I had to listen to its words and read the screen in front to know that the mandated prayer was an Oratio Imperata against the Reproductive Health Bill. I stood up and sat down and waited until the rest of the attendees were done with the mandated prayer. Truth be told, I did not say the prayer.

I am for the Reproductive Health Bill. With all due respect to the Catholic Church and its leaders, i believe the act of the church in having an Oratio Imperata has encroached the borders of church towards the state. I thought this mandated prayer is only for calamities where everyone should be one in their faith so they can be spared from a disaster ( famine, typhoon, viral disease, epidemic) I did not know this too can be used to address political matters the church leaders are strongly opposing but to which a certain number of its devotees are in favor of, me included. I have my reasons why i am for the bill, but it doesn't mean my faith and devotion has wavered simply because i favor a legislation which merely gives an individual a choice, a bill which protects and educates the women and the young, a bill which can nip in the bud the never ending problem of poverty and overpopulation.

Just as the bill still gives the individual a choice, i believe the church can only preach and enlighten its devotees. It can not mandate them to pray for something they are in favor of.