The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday said that divorce, once it becomes a law in the Philippines, will only be applied to civil marriages and not rites done by the Catholic church.
CBCP spokesperson Fr. Jerome Secillano made the remarks after the House of Representatives had approved on third and final reading a measure seeking to legalize divorce as another mode for terminating marriage.
The bill aims to reinstate absolute divorce as a resolution for dysfunctional marriage after it was outlawed almost a century ago.
“It’s a betrayal of their constitutional mandate to uphold marriage and the family,” Secillano added.
The Catholic church spokesman reiterated that the CBCP would remain committed to going against divorce.
“We remain steadfast in our position that divorce will never be pro-family, pro-children, and pro-marriage. Divorce is actually anti-family, anti-marriage, and anti-children,” he said.
Secillano also said it is not true that divorce will prevent adverse impacts on children of constant quarrelling of parents.
“It’s actually the same with divorce. It has several adverse impacts and effects on children. So, there is a real need to balance how we view this matter,” he said.
Apart from the Vatican, the Philippines is the only country in the world that has not legalized divorce.