Archbishop Quevedo first cardinal of Mindanao and advocate of dialogue between Muslims and Christians
Zamboanga (
AsiaNews) - For Muslims and Christians in Mindanao, the appointment of Archbishop
Orlando Beltran Quevedo of Cotabato to the College of Cardinals is a great
opportunity for interreligious dialogue in the Muslim majority region
devastated by 40 years of guerrilla warfare between the Philippine army and
Islamic rebels .
Fr. Sebastiano
D' Ambra, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME )
in Zamboanga and founder of the Silsillah movement for dialogue between faiths
is a personal friend of Msgr. Quevedo. He told AsiaNews : "The Archbishop of
Cotabato is highly respected by the Muslim community in Mindanao, especially
for having always supported a position of dialogue and openness during moments
of tension between Christians and Muslims because of the attacks launched by
Islamic rebels of Abu Sayyaf". For
the priest, his appointment brings "new light to this very often forgotten
land and will affect the future of relations between Christians and
Muslims."
The
same Mohagher Iqbal , leader of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF) , said that Muslims "hoped that a
person of the caliber of Msgr. Quevedo would receive a position of prestige and
recognition within the Church ." For
the founder of the MILF "it is good for peace in Mindanao".
From the religious of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the 75 year old Msgr. Quevedo , was president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines from 1998 to 2003 and is one of the organizers of the Asian Federation Bishops 's Conference. He was first appointed bishop in 1980 during the Marcos regime, to Kidapawan (Mindanao ) where he remained until 1986. This period is marked by the murder of Fr. Tullio Favali killed in 1985 in Tulunan (North Cotabato ) by a paramilitary group . In 1986 he became bishop of Nueva Segovia and in 1998 Archbishop of Cotabato one of the dioceses most affected by guerrilla warfare between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the army.
In
July 2003, the culmination of a major offensive launched by the government of
President Gloria Arroyo against the Moro rebels, on the occasion of the 27th
General Assembly of the bishops and businessmen in Taguig (Manila) Msgr. Quevedo
read an important document titled "Injustice : the root of the conflict in
Mindanao." With
it, the prelate denounced the situation of marginalization of the Muslim
population. This
analysis became one of the fundamental texts for dialogue with the rebels and
for the revival of human development in Mindanao . Msgr. Quevedo
was one of the most committed Catholic bishops to the the peace process began
in November 2012 with the creation of the autonomous region of Bangsamoro . In
July 2009, the
Abu Sayyaf terrorists detonated a bomb in the cathedral of Cotabato, while he
was celebrating mass. Five people
were killed in the attack.
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31/10/2018 09:29
