Put kids first, Cardinal Tagle tells parents

Amid the renewed push to legalize divorce in the country, a top Church official called on parents to consider the welfare of their children before making a decision that would forever change their marriage.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila said that the comfort and happiness of the parents, as adults, should not hinder the welfare of their kids, whenever possible.

“My appeal to the couples is think not just of yourselves but also of the children,” Tagle said over Manila archdiocese-run Radio Veritas.

“They (children) are just at the stage of discovering life. Consider also their sufferings and their capacity to absorb the burdens,” he said.

The cardinal noted certain “tendencies” today that when minor problems begin to crop in the family, the immediate interpretation is separation.

According to him, conflict is bound to happen because it’s an inevitable part of married life.

“A perfect, smooth and seamless situation is an illusion,” he said, adding that the ability to resolve conflict should be part of family life or even just in an organization.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the criticized the pending bills in Congress introducing divorce, stressing the “sanctity and dignity of marriage as a sacrament”.

In fact, said Lipa Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, chairman of the CBCP’s Commission on Family and Life, the Constitution recognizes the sanctity and dignity of marriage.

“In fact, our Constitution was once touted as the first pro-family constitution in the world,” he said. “Let not Congress lay waste to these victories with a divorce bill.”