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The present furor over the various reproductive
health bills sponsored by various senators and congressmen
highlights once again the overindulgent concern the Catholic Church
pays to sexual morality at the expense of more serious moral issues
like the alleviation of massive poverty, the containment of
overpopulation, and the prevention of AIDS.
Much productive thinking as to
the proper policy to pursue with respect to the latter three
obviously more potent problems would be realized if only the Church
control its obsession with sexual morality and direct its attention
to more urgent matters. What purpose will be paid homage if
contraceptive devices are discouraged from use, when the number of
AIDS victims alarmingly increases and overpopulation reaches such
worrisome levels as to threaten economic sufficiency?
This obsession by the Church
lends credence to the criticism of the running priest, Fr. Robert
Reyes, who chides the church for “selective morality,” as it
focuses on reproductive health, population and sex issues, while
ignoring the more urgent ones of maritime disasters, extrajudicial
killings and corruption. Without disagreeing with Fr. Reyes,
overpopulation is a serious problem too, which requires addressing
if the world as we know it is to survive. Admittedly, the regulation
of the use of contraception is comparatively a trivial problem.
Indiscriminate sex is,
concededly, a social phenomenon with harmful repercussions. The
world would have less abortions, unwanted babies, teenage
pregnancies, poverty and misery as well as crowded cities, if
individuals were more circumspect in giving in to their erotic
appetite. That being said, the previously mentioned ill effects
would be avoided just as well if the individual, instead of giving
in to the sexual urge, would indulge in it with precaution by the
use of a condom or other contraceptive device. He would not become
more moral; only more considerate and socially-aware.
If the Church accepted the use of
contraception as a valid means to curtail overpopulation, it would
be in keeping with sainted company. St. Thomas Aquinas, himself,
realized the need for law to be prudent and conform to the
capabilities of those it governs, so that it should not demand
virtue or forbid evils the ordinary citizen would be unable to
adhere to or to resist, lest he break out into greater lusts. Thus,
the state should not forbid prostitution, lest, the masses resort to
rape to give vent to their lust.
The Church, in other words,
should practice prudence and keep a balanced view of the comparative
disvalue of the ills and evils of society. There is too much
preoccupation with sexual matters, be it the prevention of
pre-marital sex, the preservation of marital fidelity, the
prohibition of prostitution and the like.
This obsessive preoccupation
overemphasizes one kind of virtue, whose worth, given the proper
perspective, should not be allowed to prevail over others. For, how
much good is achieved if an individual refrained from sex, and yet
did not contribute to society, such as donating to charitable
projects or engaging in good works? He would be a far happier
individual, were he able to indulge his sexual appetite so as to
become more kindly disposed towards the more unfortunate members in
our society, much as an erring husband suddenly becomes overly
solicitous and caring to his own neglected wife. A man, with a
smiling face due to satisfied libido, looks at the world with a more
sympathetic and amiable attitude and demeanor.
Once again, the paramount issue
of individual autonomy is neglected by the Church. It would not
trust its parishioners to decide for themselves the purely private
matter of whether to have sex or not, of how to enjoy it, and with
whom to enjoy it with. Consequently, methods to prevent the more
unpalatable consequences of indiscriminate coupling, such as
unwanted babies or contagious disease, are forbidden from his
rightful choice and discretion, having been rendered unavailable.
For sure, the individual will
lose the battle against his own appetites.In the words of Confucius,
“a man with an erection is in no need of advice.” At that point,
the time for advice is gone; the Church would do well, instead, just
to allow the individual to err responsibly.
Apart from the value of autonomy,
the Church would be realizing other goods, as in the
previously-mentioned prevention of overpopulation and the
containment of AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases. These
valuable goods should certainly be important enough for the Church
to rethink its policy on reproductive health, and allow free and
unfettered debate on the issue so that a desirable bill be enacted
which takes into account socio-moral and economic issues, not just
sexual ones.
Once again, the Church appears to
be causing more harm than good in its obsession with ensuring the
sexual morality of its parishioners. It should limit its methods to
bring about a more holy community with carefully-crafted advice and
not stand in the way of government as it attempts to educate the
people with various methods for preventing pregnancy and the spread
of AIDS.
eqfernando@hotmail.com.
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