“The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines must now be considering how to get the faithful oppose the Absolute Divorce law”
THE House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading the controversial law on absolute divorce.
Whether or not it will ever be enacted by the Senate is the question, considering there are only four senators who are confirmed pro-divorce: Raffy Tulfo, Robin Padilla, Risa Hontiveros and Imee Marcos.
At the outset, as a practicing Roman Catholic, I must say I am a confirmed anti-divorce Roman Catholic.
Yes, there are many marriages that have turned sour for many reasons.
First of all, marriage is not a bed of roses as many think.
I have been married for the past 69 years, and people ask me what I did to last that long being married. In jest, I always say, “I insist on having the last word in the house, ‘Yes, darling.’“
Kidding aside, as I said, marriage is not a bed of roses.
There are many trials along the way.
Thus, when people want to get married, the first requirement is one must know what he or she is getting into, not just because one is in love.
A couple must have the same background, like being educated.
A son of an haciendero must not marry the daughter of a farmer, or the house helper must not marry the son of the boss.
That can only happen in the movies.
First of all, the couple must have faith and trust in each other, and above all, they must have faith in God.
For that reason, it is essential that before marriage, the couple must consult a priest. In fact, when both man and woman are Catholic, they must undergo counseling.
I have been married for 69 years, and my wife and I are still in love because we remain having faith and trust in each other and, above all things, faith in God.
Marriages not based on faith and trust in each other, and as I said faith and trust in God, are bound to fail, like when a marriage gets into financial difficulties.
That’s when a marriage gets tested, and faith in God matters because He will show the way.
When my wife and I had financial problems, my wife had to sell hand-decorated pillows and, with the help of a good friend, they sold those pillows to friends and relatives.
My wife had to buy paintings at a discount and sell those paintings at a profit.
Santa Banana, there was a time when my wife made more than I did when she made the acquaintance of a big time art dealer and bought paintings at a big discount and resold them at a profit.
Oh yes, Santa Banana, there will be occasions during marriage when one is tempted to look for the comfort of another man or woman.
That is where faith and trust in each other comes in, and, above all, faith in God comes in, to keep a marriage strong and solid in spite of temptations.
Getting married at this time with so many temptations along the way is not an easy thing to do.
In my case, as a journalist, I have met all kinds of people and temptations are there.
But, because of my faith and trust in God, I have surmounted them and I have learned most of the time it’s the influence of the company that you keep where temptations start.
When the Divorce Law gets into the Senate for consideration, that’s where I have serious doubt about its approval.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines must now be considering how to get the faithful oppose the Absolute Divorce law.
There’s a strong need the people of a Catholic country like the Philippines must oppose it.
Yes, I agree even other Catholic countries worldwide have a divorce law.
But, that’s not an argument why we Filipinos should have a divorce law.
I hope and pray the Senate will not allow the Absolute Divorce law to be enacted.
Otherwise, like in the United States, people will just get married for the wrong reasons.
