The Roman Catholic Church And The RH Bill

So the bill has passed. Congress has approved it and the President is going to sign it after certifying it as urgent.

I haven't read yet the amended form of the bill, the one reconciled by the bicameral committee so I won't comment about that first. Needless to say, the Roman Catholic Church isn't done with its campaign. The one remaining option is to challenge the constitutionality of the newly drafted law, something that will be decided upon by the Supreme Court. The Court might render either the whole law not constitutional, or some parts not constitutional, or the entire thing valid.

So what exactly happened? How did the Church lose this battle?  Many have opinions as to what turned the tide in favor of the RH Bill. Let me share you mine, borne out of the benefit of hindsight.

Questionable Anti-RH Advocates

Let's face it. Between Tito Sotto being charged of plagiarism, Juan Enrile's attempt at whitewashing history with his memoir, and the clergy elite's irresponsible statements, the anti-RH party didn't have a good-enough poster boy (or girl) for the campaign. What they have instead are backers of questionable virtue, whose moral righteousness only came off to the public as unfounded arrogance hiding behind the face of God. 

No Women

This was a mortal sin, at least in the eyes of public opinion. What we generally saw was a male-dominated clergy lashing out at the evils of the bill through news statements. There were apparently no women involved and the nuns were frequently in the background during rallies. In a bill that purported to help women, the silence among the female laity against it was deafening.

The Bully Perception

Ultimately, what worked against the RH Bill was the perception of the Catholic Church as the bully. In this case, everything it did was confrontational, under the pretense that it was fighting the Lord's battle. The ultimate weapon was, of course, the Catholic vote which majority of Congress considered as merely a bluff. For a church which has proven to be a political force in our history, it lacked the political savvy that went along with it. The Church went solo, never augmenting its forces by reaching out to other religious organizations for support and alliance, or to intellectual heavyweights who can bolster its claims. It never did find a way to connect to the many solons who support the bill, choosing instead to burn bridges by intimidation.

The reason why these blunders must be raised and reflected upon is because the Church has tougher battles ahead of it. There's the pending divorce bill and the other bills which it must fight. Surely, the Church must be more prepared for these if it wishes to sew back whatever moral fabric is left or whatever political clout it has remaining.