Pope Francis issued his strongest defence yet of the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception on Friday, urging families at a rally in Asia's largest Catholic nation to be "sanctuaries of respect for life".
But at the same time he urged compassion for those families who struggle to follow the teaching.
During his first full day in Manila Francis also denounced the Philippines’ high levels corruption and urged officials to work to end the country’s "scandalous" poverty.
At a meeting with families in a 20,000-capacity sports arena in Manila he told the crowd: "Be sanctuaries of respect for life, proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death."
"What a gift this would be to society if every Christian family lived fully its noble vocation."
Francis deviated from his prepared remarks and switched from English to Spanish to praise "courageous” Blessed Pope Paul VI for having resisted calls for relaxing church teaching on sexuality in the 1960s.
Francis noted that Paul VI, author of the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, which forbade Catholics from using artificial birth control, knew some families would find it difficult to uphold the teaching and "he asked confessors to be particularly compassionate and understanding for particular cases."
His comments come less than a year after the Philippines Supreme Court approved the Reproductive Health Law, long fought by the Catholic Church, which allows the Government to provide universal access to contraception, fertility control and sexual education.
But he praised his Italian predecessor, whom he beatified in October, for being far-sighted. “In a moment of that challenge of the growth of populations, he had the strength to defend openness to life.”
"He looked beyond. He looked to the peoples of the earth and saw the destruction of the family because of the lack of children," Francis said.
"Paul VI was courageous. He was a good pastor. He warned his sheep about the wolves that were approaching, and from the heavens he blesses us today."
Appealing to the traditional values of Filipino Catholic families, Pope Francis also made one of his strongest calls as Pope against movements to recognise same-sex unions as marriage.
"The family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage," the pope said Jan. 16, hours after warning that Philippine society was "tempted by confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage and the family."
"As you know, these realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God's plan for creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best in your culture," he said.
Pope Francis made his remarks at the meeting with families and earlier at a Mass in Manila's cathedral.
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