Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Albay bishop calls on lawmakers to protect sanctity of marriage, family

LEGAZPI CITY, ALBAY -– Diocese of Legazpi Bishop Joel Z. Bailon urged lawmakers to consider alternatives that support and strengthen marriages and families rather than opting for solutions that lead to their dissolution.

“We express our hope and fervent prayer that the Senate will stand firm in its previous rejections of similar measures and continue to protect the sanctity of marriage and the family,” Bailon said in a pastoral statement on the approval of the proposed Absolute Divorce Act by the congress 

The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the House Bill 9349 bill legalizing divorce in the Philippines. 

Bailon said that while the church respects the legislative process, it is their moral duty to provide guidance to the faithful on this critical issue.

Pastoral care and support

He noted that the church empathizes with the pain and suffering of families affected by irreparable marriages however divorce worsens the instability of the affected families and the negative effects on children.

“It opens the door to a mindset where marriage can be easily dissolved for various reasons, which contradicts the permanence and sacredness of the marital bond,” he said.

Couples facing difficult marital challenges can seek pastoral care and support. Parish communities offer guidance and counselling and other necessary resources and spiritual support for couples and families to work towards healing and reconciliation.

Legal remedy

Instead of divorce, Bailon cited the need to improve the family code as legal remedy for irreparable unions.

“Instead of a divorce law, what is needed is a more comprehensive Family Code that includes all the known grounds for the declaration of marriage invalidity,” he said.

Bicolano lawmaker and Senate President Francis Escudero said in a press statement that he has no intention to be in favor or against the bill as it is a personal vote based on respective beliefs and religion.

With the final approval of the congress, the proposed Absolute Divorce Bill will be submitted to the senate for consideration. It will be passed into law once approved by both houses and the president.

A bill may be vetoed by the president, but the House of Representatives may overturn a presidential veto by garnering a 2/3rds vote. I Sally Altea/PIA Albay

IMG 9337
Diocese of Legazpi Bishop Joel Z. Bailon urged lawmakers to consider alternatives that support and strengthen marriages. (File photo from Cathoolic Bishops Conference of the Philippines)
Share