Carlos Celdran “offends religious feelings”, faces jail time

What the hell IS this? Are lay church members – plaintiffs insane?

Giving “religious offense” is actually a basis, in Manila, the Philippines, in 2013, for incarceration. WTF?! Nasa’n si Padre Damaso, ha, at ma-deport nga?!

Full text of the decision is available from the article at the Filipino Freethinkers, or from a local copy obtained off  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByIQb2-6J40ISGVXOTdXXzFpRGM/edit

There is more than one way to order and express our loyalties – to our families, communities (Church, town, teams) and to country – but relying on outdated, anti-Constitutional law to protect your “feelings” (read: political position on a topic about which you have a beleaguered opinion) is not an acceptable way to show fealty to the teachings of “the” Church.

To you plaintiffs who’ve caused Mr Celdran to be given jail time:  You know what? The Church’s position resisting sex education, and making contraception available to women citizens as a choice, is deeply offensive to me, what do you make of that?

Are you taking offense with other persons’ opinion about a topic that your religion has something else to say?  Get over it, and move with the rest of us into the public sphere.  Make your statement a political statement, but leave the religious feeling of the rest of us out of the public discourse.  You might win legislation, or you may not; but make the discussion a rational one, based on what all our fellow citizens need.

Errata:  Article was originally posted with the title “David Celdran ‘offends religious feelings’, faces jail time”.  That was not a spell check problem – for some unfathomable reasons of it’s own, my brain made that substitution, and my fingers followed. Sigh.  Must avoid posting when pissed off.

My apologies to stray visitors.

Leave a Reply