The love story started on February 14 when the Department of Health (DOH) gave out condoms–free with every purchase of flowers at the Dangwa Flower Market in Manila. As expected, the Church was among the first ones to cry foul.
“It is vulgar, it is lewd, it is gross,” says Archbishop Oscar Cruz in an interview with the Inquirer. The reply comes as no surprise to Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, who said that the DOH’s move is a necessity to significantly reduce HIV-AIDS cases in the country.
Is Cabral really at fault? The United Nations and the World Health Organization recently reported that new infections decreased by 17% in the last eight years. The report also mentioned that Asia had the most dramatic declines, with Southeast Asian infections reduced by 10%.
The converse is true for the Philippines. Cabral notes that infections per day quadrupled in the last three years. She fears that from the estimated 4,400 present cases of HIV-AIDS, the number could balloon to 34,400 in about two years.
The Church has always been adamant in its stand regarding reproductive health. They fear that condoms and other contraceptives promote promiscuity, most especially among the youth. They say that the real issue here is proper education and the preservation of morals.
The Church has valid arguments, but it seems that it overlooked the government’s duty to protect its citizens from an impending danger. The facts are clear: a stop-gap measure is needed while long-term programs are being formulated.
Call it a case of unavoidable evolution, but it’s clear that no institution can expect to remain unchanged with the passage of time. The Church must accept that society has become much more liberal, and hence it cannot exclaim that only a strict adherence to its teachings can solve the world’s problems. To be relevant in today’s times, one must be idealistic, as well as practical.
The youth are caught in the middle of this crossfire. Institutions such as the Church and the government have the responsibility to form, inform and protect. Abstract lectures on the pulpit are not enough–eager teenagers might not hear, consciously or unconsciously. The preacher must reach out to the preached, not just through the strength of his words, but also through the effectiveness of his actions.
True, merely taking pain relievers without addressing the root illness is foolish and counterproductive; but so is choosing to stay idle in the face of an oncoming tide.
