Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon on Wednesday, May 29, issued a pastoral letter opposing the divorce bill and calling on the country’s legislators to seek “better and more effective alternatives to the problems faced by the Filipino family, focusing on improving and strengthening the Family Code so that it comprehensively addresses the struggles and reinforces the hope of every family”.
He also called on government agencies to make the annulment process easily accessible and affordable.
“To our priests and family and life ministers, I call upon you to intensify your commitment and explore ways to strengthen our family and life programs,” he said.
The bishop pointed out that on May 2 the House of Representatives approved House Bill 9349, An Act Reinstituting Absolute Divorce as an Alternative Mode for the Dissolution of Marriage.
“This is indeed a tragic development because the said bill is an outright defiance of the Law of God. We believe that marriage is more than just a human contract. It is a divine institution, hence sacred and indissoluble,” he said.
“There are indeed couples who are caught in an irreparably broken union and with whom we sympathize. However, the remedy to such situations is not divorce but the improvement of the Family Code, which will include all possible grounds for the declaration of nullity of a marriage that was void from the beginning,” he said.
A divorce law would affect all marriages since it would change the legal structure of marriage to a breakable contract, he said.*
