on the good effects and bad effects of contraceptive pills

"all medical products have good and side (bad) effects" - ex-DOH chief Cabral



(update: here's some more from the wacky guys at FilipinosForLife)

After you, Japan

China census shows population aging rapidly
(philstar.com) Updated April 28, 2011 10:38 AM

BEIJING (AP) - China's latest census shows that the world's most populous country is aging rapidly, and half the people now live in cities.

Results of the census released Thursday showed that the number of people under the age of 14 accounted for 16.6 percent of the country's 1.34 billion people, down 6.3 percentage points from 10 years ago. The number of people over the age of 60 was now 13.3 percent, up nearly 3 percentage points.

The rapid aging has fueled worries that China will soon not be able to sustain its fast economic growth of the past three decades.

The census carried out late last year also showed that nearly 49.68 percent of the population lived in cities, up from about 36 percent in 2000.
/

Me: No further comment, your honor.

The five-point position on responsible parenthood of PNoy

The five-point position on responsible parenthood of President Benigno S. Aquino III:
[and my comments]

1. I am against abortion.
[This is a thoroughly misused and abused statement. If he is against abortion, then all his statements must be unequivocally consistent with this position. One cannot say he is against abortion yet be in favor of promoting abortifacient contraceptives, under the guise of "choice". Mr President, state your CLEAR position against abortifacients, otherwise your claim does not have any credibility]

2. I am in favor of giving couples the right to choose how best to manage their families so that in the end, their welfare and that of their children are best served.
[Nobody is in a position to 'give' rights that we are entitled to in the first place, certainly not the president. Universal, unalienable rights are implicitly conferred upon mankind by its Creator, and that includes the right to manage our families. When the president says he is in favor of "giving the right to choose", he is in no position to give it, nor is he in a position to take it away. He does not have any right to give rights, for as president - he is just supposed to recognize them.]

3. The State must respect each individual’s right to follow his or her conscience and religious convictions on matters and issues pertaining to the unity of the family and the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death.
[God is the giver of the fundamental human right to religious liberty. God is the giver of life. When people say they are for abortion or contraception and at the same time recognize the sacredness of human life in ALL its stages, they must understand what it means and how to act accordingly.]

4. In a situation where couples, especially the poor and disadvantaged ones, are in no position to make an informed judgment, the State has the responsibility to so provide.
[The responsibility to provide and informed judgment must come with a realization that the truth in its bare glory must be made known. To peddle unthruths - such as contraceptives recognize the sacredness of human life in all its stages - is a total mockery of cultivating informed judgment.]

5. In the range of options and information provided to couples, natural family planning and modern methods shall be presented as equally available.
[What modern methods? Under the premise that "those modern methods" contain abortifacients, then his last point completely negates all the four points above, and likewise goes against the fundamental law of the land. All these statements are not only unconsitutional, worse, they are unCatholic as well.]

Let us pray for our president.

HAPPY EASTER !

HAPPY EASTER !

Here's a story originating from the former Soviet Union. It was Easter, but since religious persecution was at its height, the churches were closed and anti-religious propaganda was in full swing. A Soviet officer came to a village and orde...red the entire population to the go to the village center, where he harangued them about the "scientific" proofs that there is no God.

Finally, an old man spoke out. He was the village priest, who for a long time had been prevented from exercising his ministry among the people. (In some versions of the story he's Catholic, in other versions he's Orthodox.) He asked to be allowed to say a few words. The smug Soviet official, confident that the old man can do no harm to the atheist cause, let him go to the front of the people so he can speak.

Upon arriving at the front, the old priest simply said, "My people, Christ is Risen!"

First, there was an uneasy silence. Then, an old woman croaked back: "Indeed, He is Risen!" A few voices followed, "Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!" Before long the entire crowd was singing the great Paschal song of the Eastern Churches: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"

The Soviets, alarmed, arrested the old man, and he was never seen again. But he had struck a blow against atheism that won't be forgotten for a long, long time...

- Carlos Antonio Palad

30 pieces of silver, then and now

The Gospel today narrates the story about the 30 pieces of silver, as they were about to be handed on to Judas Escariot. (Mat 26:14-25)

Many people speculate just how much 30 pieces of silver would cost nowadays. One estimate puts it at about US Dollars ($) 15,000. That would be around Pesos (P) 645,000 in our currency. Seems reasonable, and just about squares with the same amount mentioned likewise to buy the "potter's field" in Matthew 27:6-10. One can already buy a nice chunk of agricultural land with that much money hereabouts.

The thing in Matthew's narratives that strikes most is that there was no indication that Judas really needed the money. There was no compelling reason at all which says he had to have 30 pieces of silver at whatever cost. The fact that later accounts narrate that he only threw away the money in regret, is enough proof that in the first place, he never needed the money at all.

How often have we longed for material things yet in the final analysis - we don't really need them. Worse, we even barter our souls in return.

This reminds me of the 35M Euros being dangled by the European Union towards propagating contraceptives here in the Philippines. That is about 2 billion pesos in local currency. Quite a hefty sum but the catch is - the donation is supposed to be used exclusively for contraceptives.

I now recall the phrase commonly attributed to Marie-Antoinette the Queen. When told that the French populace had no bread to eat, she reportedly said: "Let them eat cake!". I am aware we have many hungry countrymen around us, yet the obvious fact is we can't feed them condoms, nor pills, nor IUDs. What our poor countrymen really need is decent jobs to enable them to feed themselves properly and live with dignity. And they need it now.

There must be some other trumps-everything need for pushing contraceptives, for our president just offered himself up for "excommunication" in return.

On Faith and Palm Sunday

Last Friday I attended a recollection which was delivered by a priest. In the course of his talk about the essence of Faith, he related this story - in my own words as I recall it.
/
Once there was a fire at this village. One house was engulfed in flames and an 8 year-old boy was trapped inside. The boy climbed up to the roof to escape the flames. Once up on the roof, he could hear the voice of his father shouting: JUMP! Jump son and I am here down below to catch you! The boy circled the edges of the roof trying to find out the exact spot where his father was, but all he could see was smoke and flames all around him. The boy ran and ran all around the roof but couldn't see his father, who all the while was shouting: Jump! Jump! Meanwhile the flames are about to topple the entire house at any time, with the boy on the roof with it. The boy hesitated. Little did the boy know that even though he can not see what was down below, he can jump at any time. The father - who can see his son on the roof anywhere from the street - was following his movements and was there to catch him anytime he jumped. The boy doesn't have to see his father. The important thing to do was to jump.
/
In his recent book Jesus of Nazareth II, Pope Benedict XVI begins by reflecting on Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Here are some excerpts that provide points for pondering on the occasion of the blessed commemoration of Palm Sunday.

...So Jesus rides on a borrowed donkey into the city. [...] Jesus claims the right of kings, known throughout antiquity, to requisition modes of transport. The use of an animal on which no one has yet sat is a further pointer to the right of kings. Most strikingly though, are the Old Testament allusions that give a deeper meaning to the whole episode. [...] He is a king who destroys all the weapons of war, a king of peace and a king of simplicity, a king of the poor. [...] None of these can be seen at the time, but in retrospect those things that could be indicated only from afar, hidden in the prophetic vision, are revealed.[...] His claim is based on obedience to the mission received from his Father.His path is a path into the heart of God's word.[...] His power is of another kind: it is in God's poverty, God's peace, that he identifies the only power that can redeem.

Thoughts of a troubled mother, and the reply of the unborn

Thoughts of a troubled mother, and the reply of the unborn
a poem in video by John B. Juat
FilipinosForLife