Let me repeat the title for you. We are not a Catholic country. When will Filipinos understand that? It just so happens that the majority of Filipinos are Catholics, and a large portion of our population is Christian. There are other groups who do not believe in god or Jesus, you know?

I am not underestimating the Filipino’s ability to understand, I am merely stating that they don’t have the ability to see through their own lives. They can’t put themselves in our other’s shoes because they have been indoctrinated so much. I understand that Catholics are protecting their own, and protecting their “laws”; which unfortunately doesn’t apply to everyone around them. They are forcing their beliefs, without thinking of the consequences it will have on other people.

A good example would be the so called ban on condoms in Ayala Alabang village in Muntinlupa city which has left a lot of Facebook friends aghast. Prescriptions for condoms? Have we gone back to the cavemen years? What’s next; banning kids from accessing Google, Wikipedia and Facebook and penalizing parents with jail time?

I have never heard of any illnesses resulting from condom use. Have you? Do condoms cause abortion? I don’t think so but I would love to see someone prove to the rest of the world that it does. What is an unborn child? Semen?

I have tried to understand this from a Catholic point of view, but my logic gets the better of me. I simply can’t get over the fact that not all residents can afford to go to a doctor go get prescriptions. The helpers of said village probably have Sundays as their days off, when government health centers are closed.

This is what I have come up as an Atheist. Catholics have always made it a point to say that kids are a blessing from god. So therefore, raising them is a sacred task given by god himself. Every child born into this world has the right to grow up in a nurturing and loving family, such as Jesus was given. Having children is a privilege, and therefore comes with a responsibility. And it starts even before they come along. You and your spouse will have to prepare yourselves for the coming of your children by being responsible parents who are able to provide for their daily needs.

Raising kids and parenthood should be part of the high school curriculum; just so these kids know what they will be getting themselves into. Better knowledge of what the future holds is a great way of promoting responsible parenthood to those who badly need it. It should be part of sex education, and male and female students should be schooled as equals.

If the parents don’t agree with my suggestion, then a license for child bearing should be given to only married women. Penalize single mothers with jail time. Extreme? Well, the ban on condoms is as ridiculous as it gets, but what did you expect from Catholics?