Church taught responsible parenthood as a Catholic obligation — CBCP head

Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas (CBCP News photo)

MANILA  — The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that the Church has taught that it is a Catholic obligation to be responsible about parenthood.

“Births should be planned rationally by both parents who must always remain open to new life, but who must also take into consideration their physical, financial and emotional capacity to raise children,” said CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas in a statement.

He added, “It is not correct for a Catholic to assume the attitude: ‘Come what may!'”

The Lingayen-Dagupan prelate issued the statement regarding reports about Pope Francis’ comment that Catholics don’t have to breed “like rabbits” and should instead practice “responsible parenting.”

“What the Pope DID SAY was that some Catholics mistakenly believe that to be Catholic, we ought to breed like rabbits — and prior to using that simile, he knew that it was harsh and so said ‘excuse the expression’ — but it was apt and it brought home the point,” he noted.

With this, Villegas urged the public to go back to the Pope’s words at his meeting with families at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“There he said that Blessed Paul VI in his much-maligned Humanae Vitae prophetically understood that nations would be impoverished in the measure that they assume an anti-birth stance,” he said.