Thoughts on the SC’s TRO on the RH Law

Yes, I’m elated that the Supreme Court (SC) has issued a four-month Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Reproductive Health Law (RHL) and set the oral arguments for June 18th. I call this a positive move by the SC because by their actions the SC is telling the Filipino people that they are not afraid to get the ire of President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III, the principal sponsor of the RH Law.

My friends quietly told me that this move by the SC could be a ploy by our Justices to diffuse the tension caused by the passage of the RH Law, so it doesn’t become a principal issue during the election campaign. But like it or not, it is already an election issue. It doesn’t help the Aquino regime that the newly-inaugurated Pope Francis comes from another 3rd world country and is vehemently against contraception. His elevation as Pope has been welcomed by a great Catholic majority, and this is one Pope that the Filipino people would tend to obey and follow his teachings.

This move by the SC all the more emboldens the Pro-Life groups to campaign vigorously against those who voted to pass the RH bill. From my end, I’ve already witnessed many parish-based organizations solidly behind the Team Buhay campaign. If I’m seeing those little red ribbons as a sign of support for the Pro-Life campaign, it is in reaction to the passage of the RH Law... and I hope that the Supreme Court would wake up to the bare truth that the RH Law is not a domestically created law, but a foreign-based law that destroys human life and eventually the family unit... which our Constitution upholds and protects.

Speaking of Pope Francis, I’m sure many of our readers have seen the Pope’s installation on live satellite TV. While we’ve practically learn the background of Pope Francis and what he stands for, there’s a friend of mine who has personally known him. He is no less than Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla of Davao City who emailed his thoughts on Pope Francis. It is my honor and pleasure to reprint this letter for our readers to appreciate.

“Bobit, Greetings from Davao! I was not really surprised when Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope in so short a time. I say this because in October of 2005 during the World Synod of Bishops on the Holy Eucharist, a group of Spanish speaking bishops, mostly from Latin America were already whispering his name as the next Pope.

During the Synod, the focused group discussion were done in different language workshops. We were about 250 bishops as synodal participants. Zamboanga Archbishop Carmelo Morelos, then Imus Diocese Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle and myself as CBCP represented our Conference. Since there were many workshops for English speaking bishops, Archbishop Morelos and I signed up for the one and only Spanish language workshop.

We were the only Asians in a group of 15 Latin American prelates who were Cardinals, archbishops and bishops. The presiding chairman was Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. Always smiling, Cardinal Bergoglio listened attentively and recognized with positive comments our interventions. When heavy arguments ensued, he would always find a way to reconcile. From the way the Cardinals and Bishops addressed him, I noticed a lot of respect and brotherly affection. He actually invited me and an Archbishop to say something even if we just wanted to listen.

Spanish is my second language, having studied with Morelos under the Spanish Vincentians. They all seemed to be at home in his presence. His bearing was simple and humble without an air of authority. I often heard that he should have been the Pope instead of Cardinal Ratzinger. We covered a lot of topics. After the workshop, he asked me in Spanish where I was from. When I told him from the Islas Filipinas, he smiled and said, “So they speak Spanish in the Philippine Islands like you?” I said, “Before, yes but now, hardly.” He almost laughed as I also did.

I told some Davao reporters this brief acquaintance with the future Pope Francis. The next question they asked was whether the new Holy Father would initiate radical changes. I said if he lived the spirituality of both his namesakes, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier, definitely yes. Without explaining, I said a humble and simple lifestyle lived with a missionary spirit on the part of Church leaders and people, would radicalize the Church from top to bottom. Congrats on your columns this past week.”

Thanks for this very enlightening letter, Archbishop Capalla. Let us hope and pray that when you or the CBCP invite Pope Francis to grace the Eucharistic Congress in Cebu in the Year 2016 that he could come and visit us. We also hope and pray that P-Noy would stop promoting the culture of death that has been packaged inside this RH Law by foreign liberals and atheists that seeks to destroy human life and the Filipino family unit.

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