Missionaries Seek 'renewed friendship' with Muslims

MANILA, Sept. 10, 2010-As Filipino Muslims mark the end of Ramadan, Catholic missionaries in Mindanao called for a "renewed friendship" Friday, urging both faith communities to serve humanity.

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo said he is hoping that this year's observance of Eid-ul-Fitr would spur not only Muslims but also Christians in working towards peace in the war-ravaged Mindanao region.

The holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr marks not only the end of the fasting period of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, but also a time of forgiveness, and making amends.

"We share in your joy as you visit your relatives, friends and neighbors. We share in your sentiments of charity as you give alms and help the needy and the poor," Archbishop Quevedo told Muslims.

In the Catholic Church, Quevedo noted they will also soon celebrate the season of Advent, a time for the believers of physical and spiritual sacrifice.

"May we seize the month of these spiritual experiences to pray and act together for peace," said Quevedo of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI).

The OMI have toiled shoulder to shoulder with Muslims in Southern Philippines, and in the islands of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Through the years, OMI Provincial Superior Rev. Ramon Ma. Bernabe said that the collaboration between Muslims and Christians has "engendered" a legacy of friendship despite the vagaries of war and conflict.

The festival of of Eid-ul-Fitr, he said, "provides the occasion to renew this bond of friendship between our two faith communities."

"It is precisely in the remembrance of this friendship that we are hopeful for a better future not only for Mindanao but also for all its inhabitants," Bernabe said. (CBCPNews)