The Philippines' influential Roman Catholic bishops assailed President Gloria Arroyo's family planning program, saying it "desecrates the sanctity of marriage and family life."
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said in a statement that the government's "Freedom from Pregnancy" program, which largely informs couples of birth control options, "violates and mocks the privacy and autonomy of couples and families."
The bishops urged Catholic health workers not to support the family planning program, stressing that the only birth control measures approved by the church were so-called "natural family planning."
The 80 percent of the Philippine population who are Catholic were also adivsed to "resist the enticements of false freedoms and counterfeit rights," according to the statement, signed by Archbishop Fernando Capalla, head of the bishops' conference.
Arroyo, a devout Catholic, has been careful to avoid angering the church which disallows the use of artificial contraceptives. Her government's population control program does not actively press couples to use birth control devices but merely makes them available as options.
This is despite warnings from business groups, international lenders and economists that the Philippines, with a population of 84 million people, faces major risks if it continues with its population growth rate of 2.3 percent, one of the highest in the world.