Where is the poor in the Church-RH Bill Discourse?

The most radical in this new way of being Church, as Church of the Poor, is how the Church, the hierarchy and the laity, looks at the poor as evangelized and evangelizers. The Church will not only evangelize the poor but the poor in the Church will themselves become evangelizers. Pastors and leaders will learn to be with, work with, and learn from the poor.

How can the poor evangelize the Church? The most radical and effective way for the poor to evangelize the Church is through the misery and poverty of their lives. Their life-situation, as a glaring reality of sin, of dehumanization and injustice, of anti-life, of anti-Kingdom, invites the Church to witness the Gospel. The Church cannot be indifferent in the face of this dehumanizing misery and poverty. The Church must do something to help the poor to liberate themselves from this dehumanizing condition.

If its law hinders the Church to be of service to the poor, the Church must give primacy to the well-being of the poor. The interpretation and application of the moral law which does not alleviate the misery of the poor is not good news of the poor. Jesus said: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." An authentic law liberates the human persons from all forms of oppression and exploitation.

In her article, “Do mothers matter?,” Ms Rina David described the miserable situations of mothers today. Among others, she said that about 11-12 mothers died every day due to poor reproductive health services; these are pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes of maternal death. This reality of the maternal death is itself the message of the poor that the reality of sin and anti-life is present. The Church cannot be indifferent and morally obliged to do something to prevent and destroy it. The RH Bill provides a legislated solution to the problem, thereby making safe and affordable reproductive health services and responsible parenthood formation programs accessible to the poorest of the poor. In conscience, the Church must endorse RH Bill at all cost.

Pope John Paul II said to the shanty dwellers in Brazil, "Do not say that it is God's will that you remain in a condition of poverty, disease, unhealthy housing, that is contrary in many ways to your dignity as human persons. Do not say 'It is God who wills it."

Today, more than ever, the prophetic voice of Pope John II is not simply addressed to the poor women and children who are deprived of access to cheaper reproductive health care, but to the Catholic Church in the Philippines to revisit its doctrine and practices from the perspective of the suffering poor women and children. For the Church to be truly a Church of the Poor, it must support the RH Bill and help in making it truly responsive to the needs of the poor and the oppressed. If certain contraceptives are proven as abortifacients, then by all means take them out of the market.

 [Note: This article was a response in the INQ.net - Disqus thread. jsalvador]