Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Davao (Agenzia Fides) - To restart the process of peace and reconciliation with Muslim separatists in Mindanao, BUC the Bishops-Ulama Conference will meet 9 and 10 October in Davao for a “Consultation of Peace with all Mindanao leaders”. This is an emergency meeting with Muslim leader Mahid Mutilan and protestant Bishop Hilario Gomes BUC co-ordinator Catholic Archbishop Fernando Cavalla of Davao told Fides.
Religious leaders aim to convince the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front separatists to resume talks. The BUC meeting will build a platform of proposals to push the parties to resume talks.
BUC has invited to the meeting MILF leader Mohagher Iqbal and government representative Silvestre Afable. In the last session of talks 6-7 September the parties failed to agree on the ancestral dominion of land.
In a statement a few days ago BUC urged the government and MILF “to resume talks immediately, to restore peaceful and respectful dialogue”, noting that “dialogue is the only human path for settling disputes”.
“We and our people - DUC said - have been waiting a long time for peace talks to produce results. We are concerned for the situation of impasse. We believe that social and political must be discussed and settled in a framework of moral and spiritual values”.
Set up in 1996, BUC is composed of 34 Catholic bishops, 18 protestant Bishops and 24 Ulama from Mindanao, home to the Philippines’ Muslim minority.
Convinced that religions can work together to stop terrorism, denounce and overcome situations of poverty and injustice for a decade these Christian and Muslim religious leaders have raised their voices to promote peace in Mindanao acting and praying “for a just peace in which there are no losers but only winners”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 2/10/2006 righe: 29 parole 293)
