As reported, "President Obama quietly begun the process of overturning regulations that protect doctors and hospitals from being forced to perform or refer abortions. The Chicago Tribune reports that President Obama is directing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to begin overturning the conscience rule that protects medical providers who are pro-life."
Catholics here in the Philippines should take this development with awareness and vigilance.
The demographic profile in the US, of course, is different than here in the Philippines with majority of Filipinos being Catholic. Obviously as well, there is and has to be a separation of Church and State but it also has to be considered that your beliefs, values, and conscience don't get left behind when you walk out the door of your house. You, for example, don't set aside being Catholic when you practice your profession, such as being a lawyer, doctor, or politician. Beliefs and one's profession or work or politics aren't suits interchangeably worn as if merely giving a performance in a play.
Thankfully, even in the US, a poll indicated that "a majority of Catholics take a pro-life position and that almost one-third of Catholic voters who say they are "pro-choice" on abortion actually oppose all or most abortions."
As majority of Filipinos are Catholics, they should remember that our beliefs require us to oppose abortion and oppose birth control. That is what our Church asks of us for which we should be supporting, period.
David Brooks' article What Life Asks of Us is instructive in this regard: "In this way of living, to borrow an old phrase, we are not defined by what we ask of life. We are defined by what life asks of us. As we go through life, we travel through institutions - first family and school, then the institutions of a profession or a craft.
Each of these institutions comes with certain rules and obligations that tell us how to do what we're supposed to do. "
The weakness of our culture is that we allow too much empathy and excuses: too poor, still young and with opportunity to learn, etc., etc. It's so easy to make excuses and everybody could claim to be special but it should be considered that every right and every privilege comes with its own corresponding responsibilities and duties, some of which are uniform and general. Just do what's required of you, period.
Citizenship and being a part of a religion (such as Catholicism) are not rights but privileges. Either one does what one is asked or do the right thing by exercising the freedom to be not part of that community or institution or religion that one can't commit to anyway.
There's just too much flakiness right now it's stupid. What's worse is that it's harming the development of this country due to the fact that duties and responsibilities are not being done and people are not being held to account for what they committed themselves to do. Commitments, though made for a certain benefit or privilege, always necessarily come with a price. We as a people should start learning to pay that price and stop acting like teenagers forever bemoaning our entitlements and whatever it is the world owes us. We call ourselves Catholics, we be it. We call ourselves a republican, democratic State, we be it.
As far as the Philippines is concerned, not only do we need to embark on an era of self-responsibility, we need to start on an era of consistency as well.
