A FETUS stuffed in a bottle of cream cheese was placed in a basket of fruits offered during a Sunday Mass in Quiapo, Manila, in what could be a gesture of protest over the Roman Catholic Church’s long-standing position against artificial birth control.

Msgr. Gerry Santos, regional director of the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (Ceap), said he learned of the unusual offer when he visited his parents after saying the 9 a.m. Mass in Quiapo on Sunday.

Santos said the bottle containing the fetus and a rosary was wrapped in a plastic bag and surrounded by apples and bananas placed in a basket. The offering was given to the priest who officiated the Mass.

“I brought the fruits to my parents’ house because we’re having lunch. It was their maids who discovered the fetus inside the bottle. You could see the hands and feet of the unborn child already formed,” he said.

Santos said he and his parents lost their appetite upon seeing the fetus and decided to immediately bring it back to Quiapo Church, where the priest blessed the unborn child.

“I asked the staff to bring it to the La Loma Cemetery that has a place for aborted fetus,” he added.  An estimated 400,000 abortions happen in the Philippines every year because of unwanted pregnancy, according to reports.

Propopulation management organizations blame the Catholic Roman Church and the government for refusing to make available all legal means of artificial birth control and for pushing a policy of exclusive natural family planning as the reason unwanted pregnancies happen.

In the past, some women, apparently stricken with conscience, opt to leave an aborted fetus outside a church facility to seek blessing.

Santos advised women with unwanted pregnancies to stay away from aborting the unborn child and instead bring the baby to the church for adoption.

“Give the baby to me. We have a number of convents and parishes but don’t abort the baby,” he said adding that the Church will continue to advocate for pro-life and reminded women that their body is a “sanctuary” for the unborn child.

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Fetus placed in Mass offering as protest vs Church policy on birth control

A FETUS stuffed in a bottle of cream cheese was placed in a basket of fruits offered during a Sunday Mass in Quiapo, Manila, in what could be a gesture of protest over the Roman Catholic Church’s long-standing position against artificial birth control.

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