MANILA, Philippines — Two Roman Catholic bishops on Friday deplored what they claimed was a decline in society’s moral values, saying that the publication of the Philippine edition of Playboy magazine and the proliferation of obscene materials could “add to the degeneration of our sexual culture.”

One of the bishops blamed the media for the allegedly dysfunctional attitude of the youth towards sex.

In separate statements posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website, Palawan Bishop Pedro Arigo said, “We are already a lost generation,” pointing out that the proliferation of obscene materials showed the declining moral values of Filipinos.

He added that allowing “these types of obscene materials,” referring to the recently released local Playboy publication, to proliferate could degenerate Filipinos’ sexual culture.

For his part, Mati Bishop Patricio Alo attributed the “disorder” in the sexual attitudes of the youth the “influence of the media.”

“It is because of the media impact and Internet that many people dress immodestly and meet the temptations of sex based too on the innate effects of original sin that makes us prone to sin,” Alo added.

The Mati prelate claimed that the mass media were promoting the reproductive health agenda which has resulted in “uncontrolled sex” because of the “false liberality of the contraceptive pills that sort of makes partners feel unfettered.”

He claimed that the increase in pre-marital pregnancies, the rising incidence of AIDS, the upsurge in the cases of abortion, divorces, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases were consequences of the promotion by the media of artificial means of birth control.

His advice to address these consequences: “Abstinence before marriage and fidelity after, and you need God’s grace for this which is our point here.”

“Man is ever weak in himself,” he added. “We cannot keep on giving personal excuses because God has provided the source of strength and this can be found in prayer and in the sacraments.”