Manila (Fides Service) - “A reconciled family is an agent of reconciliation” is the theme of a Peace Week organised in Mindanao 25 November 1 December, launched by the Bishops Ulama Forum comprising Catholic and Protestant Bishops and Muslim religious leaders.
This 2004 edition of the Peace Week comes at a time when the peace process in Mindanao has been a standstill for almost a year. After signing a cease fire agreement in July, the government and the main Muslim group Moro Islamic Liberation Front have not officially resumed negotiations although observers say talks are imminent. In effect mediators from Malaysia sent to monitor the cease fire agreement pending the setting of a date to resume talks are already in place.
This is the fifth in a series of Peace Weeks started in Zamboanga in 1998. It involves seminars, meetings, shared prayers, marches, awareness campaigns in schools and cultural centres bringing Christians and Muslims together to show that interreligious dialogue is the path towards social harmony in Mindanao. This year people will remember with gratitude reporter-photographer Gene Boyd, killed recently in Jolo, actively engaged in promoting peace. Boyd documented initiatives in various localities.
(PA)(Agenzia Fides 24/11/2004 lines 27 words 282)