In his latest encyclical in connection with the “Year of Mercy,” Pope Francis has allowed priests to forgive abortion.

Before this development, I’ve been trying to understand why priests can forgive murders, massacres, assassinations, plunder and other heinous crimes—and not abortion.

But what makes abortion more evil than the crimes mentioned above is that priests are given only a year to forgive this sin. Isn’t that a way of encouraging those planning to have abortions to do it now because next year priests can no longer forgive them?

I believe that abortion is a result of having made birth control a sin. In 1963, Pope John XXIII established a commission to tackle birth control and population. But he died before the six European non-theologians of the commission could study the matter.

However, on July 26, 1968, Pope John Paul VI expanded the commission to 72 members, including five theologians from five continents. Sixty-five members of the commission concluded birth control was not evil.

A minority of two bishops, one cardinal and four theologians said otherwise. Yet the Pope ignored the majority and wrote the “Humanae Vitae” concluding that birth control was, indeed, evil.

The question is, if Pope John Paul VI had made the opposite decision that birth control was not a sin, wouldn’t we now have less women “agonizing” and having to make a “painful decision”? Clearly, the Church is not a democratic institution.

I wonder whether masturbation was made a sin on the same basis, because there is no further information in the Bible about this matter unless we stretch the meaning of Genesis 38:9: “But Onan knew that the child would not be his, so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.”

Surely this has nothing to do with masturbation, but rather with the commandment, “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” Is there perhaps an encyclical that we are not aware of with regards to masturbation?

When God said to Adam and Eve, “Go forth ye and multiply” to populate the earth, that made sense because there were only two of them. Now, there are 7 billion people on earth. Wouldn’t it be more practical and logical for God, referred to by many as Infinite Intelligence, to say, “Go forth ye and have sex—with yourself,” which in today’s HIV-infected world is also the best way to practice safe sex despite Sen. Enrile’s belief that it is a form of genocide.

Thank God for P-Noy’s strength of will to sign the Reproductive Health (RH) bill into law.

Meeting P-Noy

And speaking of P-Noy, I had the privilege of finally introducing myself to him and proving that I am a real person and not someone using the name George Sison as a pseudonym.

Apparently, Mr. Aquino is not aware that Louie Sison, president of the Philippine National Construction Corporation, is my brother—though that is not the reason I admire P-Noy. In my view, he has truly done a wonderful job as Philippine President.

The day I met him was on National Heroes Day, which was a holiday though he was in a meeting with traffic czar Rene Almendras and others. Today, we are beginning to see the effects of that meeting although nothing dramatic as of now, even as vehicles no longer inch their way bumper to bumper—the flow of traffic, although still slow, is continuous.

With the implemention of the RH Law, I am certain that the “traffic” to abortionists would be greatly diminished.

Dinner for Mel Meer

Last Thursday, Rene and Ann Puno tendered a dinner for Mel Meer, founder of custom-tailored suits brand Bergamo, at Chef Jessie at Rockwell, with close friends of the honoree in attendance, including Mario Katigbak of Hermès and Bulgari, which incidentally is having a private viewing of its New Jewelry Collection and LVCEA watch on Sept. 18.

Also, on Sept. 18, 7 p.m., internationally renowned pianist Raul Sunico will be the featured soloist in a concert dubbed “The Powerful Prokofiev,” at Meralco Theater.

I have to practice my bilocation powers on that day.

Likewise present at the dinner for Mel Meer were Mia Borromeo, elegant in black and white with a dash of red, who reminded us of Philippine Tatler’s 14th anniversary on Sept. 15 at the Gallerie, 2nd level of Rustan’s Makati; the sweet and lovable Grace Glory Go; the always lovely Mayenne Carmona escorted by dance athlete Ryan Jago; and Jaime Ponce de Leon, whose Magnificent September Auction yesterday featured a Luna from the collection of Carlos Quirino and BenCab’s largest single figure painting of Sabel.

It was such a pleasure to see chef Jessie again after a long spell. We met when she was still pastry chef of Le Souffle. Now, aside from her Rockwell outlet, she has two other high-end dining places—the Top of the City at Citibank Tower, Makati and 100 Revolving Restaurant in Eastwood, Libis. She also caters to the rich and famous, including His Holiness Pope Francis. Nobody deserves her success more than Jessie Sincioco.

Visiting City of Dreams

The super-efficient and charming PR maven Charisse Chuidian is now with City of Dreams (COD) Manila and invited Rupert and Tina Jacinto and me as a birthday treat to Rupert. It was my first time to see the COD complex which has three hotels, namely: Crown Towers, Nobu Hotel and Hyatt Hotel.

The Crown Towers where we had dinner is truly a dream in many aspects. Its interiors are plush as in the hotels in Las Vegas.

Surely COD was made to attract the high rollers of the world, the wealthy bored rich whose excitement lies in winning or losing a fortune, as well as those who believe in the get-rich-quick-schemes of life.

And that is probably why its outdoor video keeps projecting the amounts that people have won in the slot machines.

By the way, all those slot machines that many have called one-arm bandits or sometimes “slut” machines are now called pokeys because all you use is a finger.

I guess all these words have been used because, to many, nothing is more exciting than sex than gambling. And winning millions of cash is orgasmic.

But more orgasmic than that was the dinner served to us at Crown Towers’ The Tasting Room, where you can concoct your own five-, six-, seven- or eight-course dinner from a selection of 32 French cuisine delights.

We left it to Monsieur Damien, the restaurant manager, to suggest the ideal course that would thrill our palates. And these were what we were served, with pairing wines: Duck Liver Terrine, 52°C Egg Potato Mousse, Sea Bass Tartar, Hot and Cold Lobster Consommé, Dry Aged Wagyu Beef MB6, Saffron Ice Cream and Guanaja Chocolate.

These dishes were crafted by Michelin-star chef William Mahi, who graciously toured us in the kitchen. It was his day off, but he reported to work to demonstrate his gastronomic genius.

E-mail the author: [email protected]; visit his website: www.georgesison.com