When President Barack Obama made his now-famous speech before the graduating class of Notre Dame University, everybody noticed the group of Pro-Life Catholics who opted to boycott the historic address. Without avoiding the controversy, President Obama went into the heart of the matter. He talked about abortion, but instead of defending one position and criticizing another, he spoke about what he felt has gone wrong with the way advocates on either side of the fence have been conducting the debate. 

In the pre-framed "Pro-Choice/Pro-Life" debate, each side has the tendency to portray the other as morally wrong and this often leaves little room for any presumption of good faith. When this happens, the discussion fails and the debate comes to a grinding halt. All we are left with is empty, vitriolic rhetoric and few visions of moving forward. 

As difficult as it has become in the US context to manage discussions exploring common ground in the abortion debate, in other places like the Philippines, even mustering a public discussion about contraception has become increasingly difficult in recent years. 

To be clear, it's really not because Filipino Catholics (around 80 percent of the population) are different from the majority of Catholics in other countries worldwide. Countless public polls each year confirm that Filipino Catholics share similar views: Filipino Catholics, for example, respect contraceptive choice as a matter of conscience.

But abortion is a whole other issue. The number of clandestine abortions in the Philippines is over 373,000 annually, despite the age-old penal prohibition. 

Until recently, even advocates for women's health usually steered clear of the topic of religion when it came to conducting discussions about abortion, and stuck to public health frameworks. This strategy has proven effective in clearing up misconceptions about contraception, abortion and women's health in general. It also provides an ideal frame for articulating state mandates around health services, but it does avoid many issues that women face. 

Recognizing the conservative position of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy on most issues about women's rights and not just abortion makes "opting out" of the discussion about Catholic faith easier.  Sr. Helen Graham, a theology professor and human rights advocate since the martial law period in the Philippines, assured RH advocates the feeling of "hanging by a thread" when it comes to being Catholic and supporting social change is something with which she is familiar. 

Sr. Helen spoke before RH advocates including health providers and organizers from the rural and urban poor sectors in a conference organized by Linangan ng Kababaihan (LIKHAAN) and noted that it's not just the Church hierarchy's conservatism that makes things difficult, but there is also the danger of talking out of turn when it comes to challenging religion.  She called on advocates engaging the issue of religion to study the history of the Catholic Church and be open to the complexity of Catholic thought. Citing the work of feminist theologians like Rosemary Rathford Ruther and Margaret Farley, Sr. Helen pointed out that despite the seeming contradiction, Catholic thought (particularly reforms introduced during the Second Vatican Council) can also provide a means to articulate issues in sexual ethics. 

Professor Mary Racelis from the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila led a public statement in support of reproductive health legislation, and welcomed the voices of poor women in the discussion.  She lamented how the most vociferous among those opposed to RH legislation always turn out to be the upper class women of the Catholic Women's League (CWL) and the (presumably) celibate men of the cloth.  She pointed out the irony in the situation when rich women and celibate men monopolize the discussion about women's sexuality and reproductive health. 

Poor women and their families who have the most to lose when there is no reproductive health care, have yet to be heard.  Prof. Racelis recalled how aghast she was when a priest carelessly made a categorical statement during mass contrary to Catholic teaching, calling "contraceptive use" as a "mortal sin," instead of it being a matter of conscience.  After mass, she made sure to have a conversation with him about the matter.  He turned out to be one of her former students and she thinks perhaps this was why he listened to her. 

In the end, both Prof. Racelis and Sr. Helen agreed that having been the teachers of those who later became priests, the need for more education, reflection and open mindedness about Catholicism is definitely not just for lay people and RH advocates.  The Catholic clergy definitely needs huge doses of it.