Manila: Leaders of the influential Catholic clergy warned of mounting a civil disobedience campaign as a showdown looms in the row between the Church and President Benigno Aquino over artificial birth control.
Church leaders said mass silent protest remains an option "should Aquino make good his plan to hand out artificial birth control devices".
Father Juanito Figura, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the Church can call on the Catholic faithful to defy the government "because for one thing, civil disobedience is a moral option".
He explained civil allegiance is the respect given by the people to the state and the laws of the state "and, according to Church principles, we should do that but according to the same Church principles, if a law or a state policy is against Christian teachings, persons, Christians, Catholics are not bound by conscience to obey that".
The Church and the presidency have been at odds over the use of contraceptives as a measure to arrest the country's high population growth.
Aquino believes that an "informed choice" be made available for Filipinos who want to plan the size of their family. Among the options is the use of artificial birth control methods such as contraceptives.
