Caritas Philippines national director Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo (pictured) spoke out about the Church's position on social and moral issues in a published statement on Monday.

"We will proclaim what is true, just and right. That is our moral obligation" he said.

"That is why we will speak and act in favour of human rights, the sacredness of life, ecology and the truth, among others".

Bagaforo issued the statement as a response to accusations that the clergy is meddling in politics.

The 2022 Philippine general election will take place on May 9, 2022, for executive and legislative branches of the government - national, provincial and local.

Many bishops have spoken out against issues such as the war on drugs and corruption allegations during President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.

Their commentaries have prompted calls of meddling, particularly from the administration's supporters who say the Church and State should be separated.

Bagaforo said the Catholic Church will continue to maintain its stance as a non-partisan organisation and is urging all diocesan social action centres to remain the same.

He is encouraging Catholic laity and the faithful to choose its political candidate based on what they call a LASER test (lifestyle, action, supporters, election conduct and reputation).

"It is our sacred duty to know our candidates well", Bagaforo said.

"Let our choices be a reflection of our life-earned values. Let us choose who among them will help us be better, not the one who promises only instant gratification".

The Council of the Laity of the Philippines in an unprecedented move has since endorsed vice president Leni Robredo's presidential bid.

Maria Leonor 'Leni' Gerona Robredo is a Filipino lawyer, politician and social activist who is the 14th and incumbent vice-president of the Philippines.

Source

• Inquirer.net
• Image: Fil.Catholic

To modern readers, the Biblical quote (Exodus 21:24) may seem brutal, but the Old Testament sentiment actually represented revolutionary progress.

Ancient warfare involved unrestrained killing and pillaging. By contrast, this Hebrew law codified proportionality and limits.

Historically and currently, the Vatican has played an important role in restraining and restricting warfare, building on this fundamental insight.

Pope Francis has just made an important statement supporting civil unions of same-sex couples. His message is in the documentary "Francesco" which premiered Oct. 28 in Rome.

The essential Christian message emphasizes compassion, and the Catholic Church over centuries has played a vital role in the relief of poverty and human misery, and in promotion of human rights.

The cumulative positive impact is profound among the approximately one billion Roman Catholics currently on the planet, and well beyond.

Pope Francis' April 2016 letter on marriage and the family should be viewed in this context.

Media commentary emphasized Rome's reiteration of commitment to traditional marriage, which is hardly news. The letter emphasises tolerance for those who do not accept Catholic doctrine. That marks a change, important if overdue.

In 2015, Francis celebrated a Catholic Mass in Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba. Long-term Vatican efforts to change Cuba could prove to be profound. On the same trip, he also addressed the U.S. Congress.

During the Cold War, Pope John Paul II provided historic leadership in foreign policy.

He supported Solidarity, the successful trade union-based reform movement in his native Poland. That, in turn, contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union and satellite states.

Today, hunger and poverty have been overcome for the great majority in industrialized nations, and political controversies there now generally focus on other topics.

Francis is with political reformers on the left regarding the environment and capital punishment.

Shocking criminal sexual abuse by priests is a principal contemporary challenge. In 2015, a Vatican tribunal was established to review and judge cases of sexual abuse. Francis' predecessor Benedict XVI publicly acknowledged the criminal behaviour, met with victims and apologized.

The world wars of the past century reconfirmed Catholic Church emphasis on restraint in war.

Contemporary Catholic analysis of ethics and military strategy is spearheaded by influential scholars such as J. Bryan Hehir, a senior priest and faculty member at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

During the Cold War, Fr. Hehir guided the U.S. Catholic Bishops' influential report on the use of nuclear weapons.

Hehir also bluntly criticized his church for mishandling sex abuse crimes by priests.

In April 2016, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited the memorial in Hiroshima, Japan, commemorating lives lost from the 1945 atomic bomb attack. Kerry happens to be Catholic. Appropriately and understandably, he described the experience as "gut-wrenching."

War is still occurring, but global total war mercifully has been avoided.

Global human populations since World War II have experienced extraordinary positive developments; believers from earlier periods in history would consider them miraculous.

Masses of humanity are moving into relatively comfortable lives. Democracy is spreading. Wealth gaps are growing, a disturbing reality rightly emphasised. However, vast global abject poverty is slowly diminishing.

Relative security for Americans encourages self-preoccupation.

Francis pursues wider collective concerns.

• Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War."
• Published in the Chicago Times. Republished with the permission of the author.

But a Newshub article says her record shows some surprising votes for socially liberal policies.

Same-gender marriage
In 2004, Collins voted against the Civil Union Bill, "not because of any sort of homophobic views" but because it created "a parallel form of marriage."

She voted for the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill in 2005, which would have defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. This failed in its first reading.

In 2013 she voted in favour of the Bill allowing same-sex marriage.

Abortion

In 2019, Collins voted in favour of the Abortion Legislation Bill which removed abortion from the Crimes Act.

Euthanasia

Collins had voted against the 2003 Death with Dignity Bill.

She also voted against the End of Life Choice Bill in its first reading.

But in the debate on the third reading of the Bill last year, she held back tears as she gave an emotional speech about her father, who died from terminal bone cancer.

Collins said she used to be opposed to assisted dying, but now believes giving people the choice to die with dignity is the right thing to do.

Cannabis

National has up until recently declined to commit to enacting the result of the non-binding cannabis referendum, which will be voted on in September as part of the 2020 election.

But former National leader Todd Muller said his party will likely support the legalisation of cannabis if New Zealand votes "yes" in the upcoming referendum.

Collins has not expressed a view. The AM Show in October 2018, she declined to say whether she'd be likely to vote in favour of legalising recreational use of marijuana.

She acknowledged that personal use will "probably" end up legalised soon.

Sex work

In 2003 the Prostitution Reform Act decriminalised sex work in New Zealand.

Collins voted against the Bill - in the second reading saying: "In my opinion, prostitution is rape accompanied by payment - if the prostitute is lucky."

Source

• newshub.co.nz
• newshub.co.nz
• Image: thegardian.com

The document was officially launched in Goroka on Sunday and is the culmination of two years of work within the church.

It is the first time that Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands have developed a common Pastoral Plan.

When he presented the plan the president of the Bishops' Conference, Arnold Orowae of Wabag, said that young people especially live in uncertainty and fear of the future, adding that family breakdown, violence and corruption are on the rise.

Arnold also noted "an identity crisis in the priesthood and religious life".

Source

• CatholicReporterPNG
• Asopa
• Image: CatholicReportPNG