Church launches 'anti-RH with a smile' campaign

MANILA, July 22, 2011—The Catholic hierarchy has found a new weapon to fight away the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill – smile.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has launched Friday various campaign materials to bring the Church’s message on the value of human life to the faithful.

One that notably caught the media’s attention was a sticker depicting a yellow smiley with texts “I am pro-life. I am anti-RH bill.”

Msgr. Juanito Figura, CBCP secretary general, agrees that smile can influence others and it also reflects how the Church conducts its mission.

“Maybe we can summarize the position of the Church as it continues to do its campaign against the RH, it is peaceful, friendly campaign and we are saying that we are pro-life and we are anti-RH with a smile,” Figura said in a press briefing at the CBCP office in Intramuros, Manila.

The stickers, he said, will be placed in various parish Churches across the country and will be distributed to the public to intensify their campaign against the birth control measure.

“You will see stickers displayed on vehicles. We would place stickers that are more friendly because we are actually not adversarial, not against anybody in particular, not against any group in particular but against the RH bill specifically so we are doing this mission with a smile,” added Figura.

Aside from the stickers, the CBCP also have anti-RH bill tarpaulins. One of which even has an image of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

“He is not only our national hero but this year we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary. He has always been known for his works and he always said that the youth is the future of the nation,” he said.

“If we teach our youth today the wrong values about life, if we teach the youth today on the wrong values about society and the family what will they become when they become adults and leaders of the nation in the future?” the CBCP official said.

Figura also revealed that the Church has produced a video advertisement which will be shown inside parish Churches.

“We are coming out with TV ads even with our meager income. Maybe you would see the ad not on television, but on the Church projectors before Masses because we are spreading these TV ads exponentially by using our very own network and our resources,” Figura said. [CBCPNews]