(UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Friday she would stress her government's adherence to Catholic dictums such as opposition to divorce, abortion, and capital punishment in an upcoming meeting with Pope John Paul II.

The President, a devout Catholic, also said there would be "no politics" in her scheduled dialogue with the Pope at the Vatican.

Macapagal was asked if she would seek advice from the pontiff regarding her plans for the 2004 national elections during an interview via videophone over GMA Network's "Unang Balita" newscast.

Earlier this week, Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio Bunye said the President was "praying" over whether or not she would backtrack from her decision not to seek a fresh mandate.

"I want to discuss how the policies of our government are in agreement with the teachings of the Catholic church, such as the policies on divorce, on abortion and the death penalty," Macapagal-Arroyo, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly meeting, said.

During the same interview she said she was confident the Philippines would get a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security council after speaking with UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan.

A report on the same newscast said the President also met with the US Institute for Peace, who pledged to give a 30-million-dollar development aid to Mindanao once her government signs a final peace agreement with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Philippines, where more than 80 percent of the 80 million-strong population is Roman Catholic, is Asia's biggest Christian stronghold.

Philippine law does not allow divorce or abortion which are both barred by the Catholic Church.

President Macapagal-Arroyo last year, in a gesture to the Church, suspended judicial executions but hinted that she would allow them in cases involving high-profile illegal drug kingpins.

The Catholic Church continues to have a strong influence in the Philippines where it is seen as a defender of the poor and of human rights.

However Church teaching against artificial birth control have also been blamed for hampering the government's population control programs, leaving the country with a population growth rate of 2.36 percent last year, one of the highest in Asia. Originally posted: 10:23 AM