Clerical error stymies push to end Philippine poverty

Philippine President Benigno Aquino faces a huge roadblock in his push to end the poverty weighing on his 106 million people: the Catholic Church.

I was in the predominantly Catholic nation earlier this month when the Vatican named the first non-European as pope in more than 1,200 years. Filipinos rejoiced in the choice of a Latin American pontiff with a passion for helping the poor. One-fifth of Filipinos live in slum conditions even as the economy grows 6.8 per cent a year.

News of Pope Francis' election came just days before Philippine bishops stymied Aquino's bid to curb the overpopulation that perpetuates poverty, pressuring the Supreme Court to reject the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, which Aquino signed into law in December. The law, blocked repeatedly since 1998, provides free contraceptives to the poor. Its implicit message is that families shouldn't have more children than they can realistically afford.

The Philippines has already waited too long to rein in one of the most obvious impediments to higher living standards. In mid-2012, one in four Filipinos lived on less than US$1.25 a day, and more than 10 per cent of workers have gone abroad for work.

It is no coincidence that the Philippines population growth rate is twice the Asian average.

The church professes to help those most in need and preaches the gospel of protecting society's weakest - poor women and children. How, then, can the bishops who wield such power over Southeast Asia's fifth-biggest economy fight a step that might do much to achieve those goals?