Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations Archbishop Paul Gallagher said the Holy See would encourage Catholics, particularly political leaders, in the Philippines to “listen to their pastors” regarding the latest divorce bill, which passed the country’s lower house of government in May.
At a press briefing held, during his visit to the southeast Asian nation from July 1-5, Gallagher addressed the topic of the Absolute Divorce bill, which passed the Philippines’ House of Representatives on May 22 with 131 votes in favour of the bill. One hundred and nine members of the house voted against the bill and another 20 declined to vote.
“And at the pastoral level, the question is within the competence of the bishops’ conference of the Philippines and the individual bishops,” he said. “I would presume, because it is an important issue, that they will be discussing it. So we [the Holy See] will look forward to hearing from the bishops on this in a matter which is principally of their concern.”
Since May, Filipino bishops and priests have been active in addressing the issues seen as grounds for “absolute divorce” including violence, drug addiction, and alcoholism.