Manila (AsiaNews) Muslims and Christians want to continue encouraging peace in Mindanao, an island in the south of the Philippines after celebrating a "Mindanao Peace Week" together from 24 to 30 November.
Fr Angel Calvo, one of the event's organisers, said the event is held under the patronage of the bishops of the Philippines and of the Ulama League, and it has been organised annually since 1988. The theme of this year was: "The aims of the new millennium: women and youth as peace-builders". Throughout the week, he continued, a series of events was held, like seminars and prayer meetings, as well as scholastic activities and concerts. One of the activities was a "cycle rally for peace", a game between Christian and Muslim students.
Recalling the theme of the event, Romulo Valles, Kidapawan bishop, said the organisers of the "Peace Week" had drawn attention to the fact that the Philippines is one country where the international community is committed to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, guaranteeing primary education for all, promoting gender equality, supporting motherhood and fighting diseases like AIDS and malaria. These objectives, he continued, are a pressing priority in Mindanao, where poverty remains a serious obstacle in the way of social peace and harmony.
Priests, sisters, bishops and lay people of the Christian and Catholic communities who participated in the Peace Week of Mindanao, said the event had succeeded in showing how Christians and Muslims, despite their different faiths, are united by a shared cultural patrimony and they are well able to live together in peace.
