The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urges young people to focus on their education first and avoid casual sex.
“Ang sa amin moral suasion, meaning to say we encourage the young people to be more responsible in the sense that they can have a relationship but refrain from engaging in this so called casual sex,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive director of CBCP Public Affairs Committee.
In an interview with TeleRadyo, Secillano said that nothing has changed in the church’s teaching that sex is done when a woman and a man are married.
“But of course, ‘yung lipunan natin medyo naging permissive so nakita natin dito ‘yung mga magulang baka nawalan na din ng sense of control sa kanilang mga anak tapos ‘yung mga henerasyon ngayon ng mga bata ay masyado silang naging curious sa mga ganitong usapin and they really do it,” said Secillano.
(But of course, our society has become a bit permissive so we saw here that the parents may have lost their sense of control over their children then the current generations of children have become very curious about such issues and they really do it.)
Catholic church urges young people to avoid casual sex
According to the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), the number of children giving birth to children aged 15 and under increased by 7 percent in 2019.
This number translates to almost seven births daily, a 300% increase from 2000 when only 755 from this age group gave birth, the Commission added.
He said the church can only do a reminder here especially since the youth are not yet ready to support the family and raise a child.
“Our concern is really for the young people not to jump into such kind of situation kasi it’s going to be more disadvantageous for them later on,” he said.
He said it is better for them to focus on waiting until they are ready.
“It can wait. Bilang kabataan, mag focus muna dito, very essential para sa kanila ‘yung pag-aaral nila. Magtapos, magtrabaho, and then have a relationship that will lead to the altar,” he said.