AN official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday rejected a proposal to allow “virtual” wedding ceremonies in the country amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, saying it will devalue the essence of the sacrament of matrimony.
“The inability to contract matrimony in this time of pandemic should not be made as an excuse for changing laws on marriage,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Public Affairs Committee. “Allowing virtual union diminishes the essence and dignity of marriage itself.”
The proposal was made by Rep. Ron Salo of the Kabayan party-list group in House Bill No. 7042, which seeks to allow the conduct of “virtual” wedding ceremonies by making use of video, audio, and data transmission devices. The bill said couples are being forced to postpone or even cancel their wedding ceremonies due to the prohibition on mass gatherings during the pandemic.
Secillano said the marriage of two persons requires their actual presence “because of the need to determine whether the consent of the couple is freely given or not.”
He also said cancellation of weddings is no reason to hold a virtual wedding.
“Marriage can wait. And if couples are truly for it, there will always be a time for its proper celebration,” he said.
