Category Archives: Religion

PHILIPPINE CATHOLIC BISHOP: ‘GAYS CAN BECOME SAINTS, BUT NOT CORRUPT POLITICIANS’

July 17, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

CEBU CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – A ranking Catholic bishop in the Philippines issued a challenge to gay men and women to aspire to be holy and to become saints.

The challenge was posed by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas during a convention on family and life by Catholic leaders in the country. Villegas is the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

“That first thing we should call to mind is Jesus died for all. At the cross, there were only seven words attributed to Jesus, and at the cross, He did not ask ‘Are you a homosexual? If you are, I’m not dying for you. No. There was no such thing,” he said.

Asked by a reporter if philandering and corrupt public officials — which abound in the Philippines — could also become saints, Villegas answered:

“Well, that’s a different case altogether. These politicians who cheat on their wives and steal money from the people are committing a grave sin not only to themselves but to many people who suffer as a result of the misdeeds. And that would disqualify them from sainthood.”

Villegas urged corrupt politicians to repent, reform their lives and to return every single centavo that they stole from taxpayers. “That, he said, is the only way for them to become holy and qualify for sainthood.”

LGBT, Politics, Religion, Same-sex Marriage

REPUBLICANS PUSH NEW LAW TO PROTECT EMPLOYERS WHO FIRE SINGLE WOMEN FOR GETTING PREGNANT

July 16, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all of the U.S., Republicans are pushing legislation that aims to protect Americans who oppose these unions on religious grounds.

Believing that marriage is between one man and one woman whose unions are for the sole purpose of procreation, Republican members of Congress are about to propose what they are calling the ‘First Amendment Defense Act‘ that creates a license for employers to discriminate against, and fire women for getting pregnant outside of wedlock.

The bill specifically protects those who believe that marriage is between “one man and one woman” or that “sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.” Ian Thompson, a legislative representative at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that in addition to targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, the bill “clearly encompasses discrimination against single mothers” and would hobble the ability of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal body that protects women from sex-based discrimination, to act.

The bill would, unfortunately, also discriminate against single women impregnated by married members of Congress. After all, the law applies to everyone. No exceptions.

International, LGBT, Religion, Same-sex Marriage

PHILIPPINES LOSES BID TO BECOME THE 51ST U.S. STATE, THANKS TO THE PHILIPPINE BISHOPS

June 27, 2015 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

Villegas, left, and Cardinal Tagle, center.

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles ®) – It was just a matter of time. The Philippines’ bid to become the 51st state of the U.S.A. was just weeks away from being approved by the United States Congress. But in just the last 24 hours, the hope all but went away, thanks to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing gay marriage, the Catholic Church in the Philippines says it will maintain its teachings on marriage which is exclusively between a man and a woman.

CBCP head and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas issued an official statement today, reiterating the church’s opposition to same-sex marriage, while reassuring the LGBT community there will be no discrimination against them by the Church.

“The Church continues to maintain what it has always taught. Marriage is a permanent union of man and woman, in the complementarity of the sexes and the mutual fulfillment that the union of a man and a woman bring into the loftiness of the matrimonial bond. If there is an undeniable difference between man and woman, there is also an undeniable difference between the permanent union of a man and a woman,” Villegas said in a post on his Facebook account.

Upon hearing of the CBCP’s stand on gay marriage, the U.S. Congress killed a bi-partisan resolution granting the Philippines statehood status.

“The Philippines cannot be a state of the union if it does not intend to abide by the law of the land,” Speaker John Boehner said. “Same-sex marriage is now the law in America, and no existing or potential U.S. state can get around it,” he added.