The Catholic Faith Defenders (CFD), a group of priests and lay people who defend the doctrines of the Catholic Church, vowed to oppose the passage of a law that will legalize divorce in the country.
“We … express our firm stance in the teachings of the Catholic Church and strongly oppose the legalization of divorce here in the Philippines,” read a statement from the group’s Luzon chapter.
The group said divorce is against the teachings of the Lord that says in the Gospel of Mark 10:9 that “what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”
The faith defenders said divorce will only destroy the foundation of marriage.
“The essence of marriage is its permanence and indissolubility, without which, marriage becomes meaningless and not different from mere partnership contracts,” read the CFD statement.
Instead of the legalization of divorce, the group urged legislators to pass laws that will strengthen “family values education programs” that will involve religious leaders.
The group said pre-marital and marital character development programs should also be in place instead of pressing for the use of contraception.
Several legislators have already filed proposed bills on divorce among their priority measures for the 19th Congress.
The farthest that a divorce bill has gotten in Congress was in 2018, when it was passed by the House of Representatives.
The measure, however, did not pass in the Senate.
During the elections campaign, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is open to “take the next step” and legalize divorce, but urged that the process should not be made easy.
