Manila (AsiaNews/CBCP) - In response to growing anti-Christian persecutions in many parts of the world, particularly in Iraq and Syria, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) declared 14 September a National Day of Prayer for peace.
The event coincides with the feast day of the "Exaltation of the Holy Cross", a day when the leaders of all churches are called to celebrate the Mass according to these special intentions.
The aim is to send a message of support and solidarity to these "martyrs of the modern era" and raise money to help them in this time of grave difficulty.
"We request the Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops to oblige all priests to celebrate all Masses that day for the special intentions of the persecuted Christians in Syria and Iraq," said CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates B Villegas in a letter addressed to his fellow bishops.
At the Permanent Council meeting held on 2 September, the bishops unanimously chose Sunday 14 September, as a "National Day of Prayer for Peace in Iraq and Syria", to coincide with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.
"In all our Masses on the feast of the Holy Cross, let us unite ourselves with our suffering brothers and sisters, commending to the God who is our hope, their pains, their shattered lives and dreams, their bereavement and their loss," Villegas said.
"Helpless and defenceless persons are victims of a brutal imposition of a rigid and unforgiving version of faith," he added. Yet, "Religion is as much a victim, for those who kill and slaughter, wound and maim, destroy, and burn in the name of God, send the world the awful message that religion divides"!
Indeed, according to Villegas, the "Gospel of peace, love and brotherhood is under siege in many parts of the world, especially in Iraq and Syria". Nevertheless he noted, the same Gospel of brotherhood and peace invites Filipinos to respond first and foremost through "prayer accompanied by charity and solidarity".
The archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan called for a charity collection for the Iraqi and Syrian Christians, stressing that it is "Christ in Iraq and Syria" who has been evicted from his home. In calling for further ​​fundraising, the prelate urged the faithful to be generous.
"We must be generous," he said, "and the fact that we have our own needs here in the Philippines does not excuse us from the Christian obligation of sharing with our suffering brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria".
The money will be delivered to communities in need through the Apostolic Nunciatures in Baghdad and Damascus.