Saturday, October 25, 2008

To right a wrong always welcome

Ateneo rebukes profs’ stand on RH bill
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 10:43:00 10/25/2008

MANILA, Philippines—The president of the Ateneo de Manila University has dissociated the school from the position of its faculty members expressing support for the Reproductive Health Bill now pending in the House of Representatives.

In a memo to the Ateneo community wherein he quoted his reply to a request for clarification from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Ateneo president Fr. Bienvenido Nebres said the faculty members had made it clear that they were speaking for themselves alone.

Nebres, in his memo dated October 23, also made it clear that the Ateneo stands with church leaders in questioning and objecting to the family planning and population management measure.

Nebres indicated that CBCP President Angel Lagdameo asked for a clarification from him in connection with the statement of the Ateneo teachers’ position favoring the RH Bill.

Ateneo faculty members have released a position paper entitled Catholics Can Support the RH Bill in Good Conscience and dated October 25. The position paper was widely reported in the newspapers.

“In reply to a request for clarification from His Excellency Most Rev. Angel N. Lagdameo, D.D., President of the CBCP, I wrote him (on October 22)… the faculty members clearly state that they are not speaking for the Ateneo de Manila and that this is their personal position,” Nebres said in his memo dated October 23.

Nebres said he has also written Archbishop Paciano Aniceto and Bishop Gabriel Reyes as early as October 2 about the Ateneo’s position against the RH Bill.

Nebres said several Jesuits have met with members of the faculty in a dialogue regarding the RH Bill. Norman Bordadora

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