‘Let’s not imitate others, let’s reflect on the consequences’

The president of the Episcopal Conference, Monsignor David, issued a pastoral statement on the ongoing debate in the country, the last one not to have a law recognising this institution. “We are also the only ones to have a Constitution that places the family as the foundation of the nation. The Church respects the autonomy of Parliament. “But let us also consider the statistics on the rates of marital failure in countries where this law exists.”

Manila () – The fact that we are practically the last country in the world not to have a divorce law does not in itself mean that the Philippines should also jump on the bandwagon. And above all – also in light of the experience of other countries – it does not make it any less necessary to reflect on the consequences of adopting this institution. This is what the president of the Philippine Episcopal Conference, Mgr Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop of Caloocan, wrote in a statement. pastoral statement entitled “A Nation Founded on the Family, a Family Founded on Marriage”, issued on behalf of all the bishops of the country following their Assembly.

The statement is part of the ongoing debate after the Philippine Lower House of Parliament approved in May a law that would provide for divorce, and the Senate is also expected to debate the issue. “We are the last country in the world that has not yet legalized divorce. Should we therefore join the bandwagon? Despite what some fanatics may think, in this country we have religious freedom and we uphold the principle of separation of church and state. The Church is not in a position to dictate to the state what is best for Filipino families. We know that our stubborn assertion that a genuine marriage cannot be dissolved is not necessarily shared by all religions, and we respect that. But still, should we not ask ourselves, based on research and statistics, whether the legalization of divorce around the world has really contributed to protecting the common good and the well-being of the family?”

Quoting the typical Tagalog expression maghunosdili muna tayo at mag-isip-isip (“let us remain calm and ask ourselves”), the prelate invites everyone to reflect on their own experience. “Think how many times,” he writes, “your father has slept ‘outside the kulambo’ or your mother has packed her bags and taken you with her to her parents’ house because of a misunderstanding between them. Think what would have become of your family if there had been civil divorce when you were much younger and your parents were going through serious problems in their relationship. While it is true that some marriages may already be irreparable, is it not equally true that going through marital crises is almost normal for all married couples and does not have to end too quickly with a separation? Should we not also listen to the stories of couples who have suffered crises in their marital relationship and who, after many years, looked back and realized that their bond had not been broken?”

The President of the Philippine Bishops’ Conference cites statistics showing that in countries where civil divorce is legal, “the failure rate for the first marriage is about 48%, 60% for the second and 70% for the third.” Are we sure we want to include our families in this sad statistic? At the same time, he points out that it is the laity and not celibates like bishops and priests who must take the lead in this debate. “We respect the legislative bodies of our country and the duty of our honorable legislators to make just laws that truly serve the common good. We can only hope and pray that they will consider the gravity of the task entrusted to them and the need to engage citizens in serious conversations about the implications of the laws they enact.”

He says it is perhaps no coincidence that the Philippines is the only country that still does not have a divorce law. “Although our families are not perfect,” he comments, “perhaps we should be proud of the strong testimonial value of having a provision in our Philippine Constitution that says: ‘The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation. It shall accordingly strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its overall development’ (Article XV, Section 1). Is there any other nation in the world that declares in its Constitution that the family is the foundation of the nation and that “marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and must be protected by the State”? (Art. XV, Section 2).”

Bishop David questions the idea that there are no legal remedies for failed marriages in the Philippines. “Should not the institutions of the Church and the State,” he adds, “explore more effective ways to maximize these remedies without ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater’?” He recalls how the absence of divorce should be “one more reason for couples to think twice or thrice before entering into a civilly binding marriage commitment, precisely because of the value we place on the family as the foundation of society.”

Finally, the prelate invites us to reflect on the thought expressed by Pope Francis in number 246 of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia: “Helping to heal the wounds of parents and to welcome them spiritually – writes Francis in this passage, addressed to countries where the law of divorce is in force – is also good for children, who need the familiar face of the Church to welcome them in this traumatic experience. Divorce is an evil, and the growth in the number of divorces is very worrying. For this reason, without doubt, our most important pastoral task with regard to families is to strengthen love and help to heal wounds, to prevent the spread of this drama of our time.”