Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo took a very strong position against the proposal of Philippines Vice-President Jejomar Binay who suggested ending the six-year term limits for presidents. Pabillo said the idea would lead to abuse of power.

“There must be a limit of terms. Otherwise, it will just be used by the one in power to stay on and hold on to the position,” he said.

Binay then backtracked, saying the president should be elected for a four-year term with the possibility of reelection.

Pabillo said the proposal would be worse as the president “will just work for one or two years, then he will start preparing for his re-election”.

Countering myths of same-sex marriage

According to Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia, the lobbying for same sex-marriage is based on a number of falsehoods that are falsely portrayed as self-evident truths.

He said that these myths or falsehoods include the state­ments that same-sex marriage is about equality and civil rights, that heterosexuality and homo­sexuality are equivalent and that marriage is only about two individuals.

Coleridge’s 10 propositions are published in an article on the Australian Broadcasting Cor­por­ation’s religion and ethics website.

On the argument that same-sex marriage was about civil rights, Coleridge wrote: “Here the link is made to women’s rights and racial equality. But the law already offers ample protection to same-sex attracted people in a relationship in a way that was not true of women or people of other races in earlier times.”

The article can be accessed from www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2015/07/14/4273252.htm.

A cross-party Bill for the intro­duction of gay marriage in Australia is expected to be debated in the near future.

Catholic officials criticise Cameron

Paul Barber, director of the Catholic Education Service, and Fr Michael Burke, spokesman for the diocese of Menevia, Wales, have criticised Prime Minister David Cameron’s suggestion that free transport to faith schools should be abolished in an attempt to bring closer together contrasting communities. The Catholic officials said this could have exactly the opposite effect and would create problems for faith schools.

Barber said Catholic schools had long served more ethnically diverse and economically deprived communities, and they played an essential role in integrating minority communities within British society.

Burke said he feared Cameron’s criticism of free faith school transport could again put pressure on the bussing of children to Catholic schools in Wales.

Christians facing blasphemy charges

Fr James Channan, of the Dominican Peace Centre in Lahore, said 130 Christians are facing blasphemy charges in Pa­kis­tan.The blasphemy laws have been used many times to harm Christians.

It is easy for vindictive neighbours to invent a story about people and get them in trouble. There are cases where whole communities have been accused and there have been grave incidents where Christian villages or neighbourhoods have been burned to ashes.

Channan said the law is also used to settle business disputes or personal vendettas, saying about 950 Muslims were currently being held under the law.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)

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