. . . is the topic of my latest Trade Tripper column in this Friday-Saturday issue of BusinessWorld. Excerpt:
"Clearly, there are socio-economic or medical considerations that need to be addressed. We should remember, however, that though material poverty and physical sickness are indeed serious matters, even more serious would be to disregard spiritual poverty and sickness. Reliance on contraception is simply wrong for being immoral and against the teachings of our faith. It deludes people by disguising the problems that should actually be addressed. It is also quite conceited for us to think that the Church would take a stand against contraception without taking into account the realities of this world. Again, Humanae Vitae: 'The teaching of the Church regarding the proper regulation of birth is a promulgation of the law of God Himself. And yet there is no doubt that to many it will appear not merely difficult but even impossible to observe. Now it is true that like all good things which are outstanding for their nobility and for the benefits which they confer on men, so this law demands from individual men and women, from families and from human society, a resolute purpose and great endurance.'"
