Different faiths storm heavens with prayers for peace
By JAIME ESPINA
BACOLOD CITY - Amid the apparent inevitability of a United States-led war on Iraq, different faiths here have not given up hope in the power of prayer to prevent what many fear could become a clash of civilizations. Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Buddhists have, together or separately, stormed the heavens with prayers for peace.
Catholic Bishop Vicente Navarra of the Bacolod diocese has issued a circular calling on his flock to join a “crusade against war” and designated February 10 to 28 as “Prayers for Peace Days.”
The bishop said US President Bush’s insistence on attacking Iraq “has compounded the fear of restlessness of the Filipino people over the international crisis of massive scale.”
Leaders of the different faiths also held an interfaith rally for peace this week and will also participate in the Worldwide Pilgrimage for Peace on February 14 (the 15th in the Philippines), Valentine’s Day, when United Nations weapons inspectors are scheduled to deliver their second report on disarmament efforts in Iraq to the world body’s Security Council.
On Tuesday an estimated 300 members of the Muslim community here gathered at the Provincial Capitol Lagoon to pray for peace as they marked the third day of their annual hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.
Imam Omar Betita, chairman of the local Muslim community, said the third day of the hajj is also called the Day of Sacrifice to mark the prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismael, to God.
“We prayed not only for ourselves but for others throughout the world that they may work for peace,” said Betita, a Bacolod resident and convert to Islam. Explaining their position against a war on Iraq, Betita said it would affect not only Muslims, who increasingly see the US’s belligerence as directed not only against their faith, but to the rest of the world.
This coming Saturday Fr. Ireneo Gordoncillo, a convener of the Pilgrims for Peace, said thousands of people from all over Negros Occidental are expected to converge in this city for a “silent march for peace.”
Besides the various faiths, the Pilgrims for Peace also includes different militant and sectoral organizations.
In keeping with their call for peace, Gordoncillo said they are also calling for the immediate resumption of peace talks between the government and National Democratic Front.
Gordoncillo stressed that the US has so far failed to prove its case for military action against Iraq.
He also blasted the bellicose statements made by President Arroyo against Iraq immediately after she returned in the country from a visit to Kuwait to check on Filipino workers who may find themselves in the line of danger there should war break out in the Middle East.
The President aired support for the US’s position on Iraq and said only Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should be blamed if war does break out.
Gordoncillo warned the President’s placing the country behind a “very unpopular war” could trigger religious strife between the country’s Christian majority and its Muslim populace. |
