• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Diocese of Kabankalan has joined the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, who expressed grave concern over the escalating conflict in the Middle East, in calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for all parties to exercise moral responsibility, resisting the spiral escalation that leads only to deeper suffering and irreversible loss.
As a community of faith, we believe that “peace is not merely the absence of war; it is the fruit of justice and the work of dialogue.”
In a statement, Kabankalan Bishop Louie Galbines called for prayer and fasting in this season of Lent, for an immediate end to hostilities; solidarity with the poor and displaced who suffer most from war; hope that diplomacy and reconciliation will prevail over violence.
The Central Committee of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) urged the restoration of diplomacy as the primary instrument for resolving conflicts.
Dialogue, however difficult, remains the only path that respects the dignity of peoples and the sovereignty of nations, the FABC statement said.
Caritas Philippines also expressed grave concern over the escalating violence in the Middle East, and the growing threat of a wider regional war.
San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, who heads the Caritas Philippines, said the continuing military confrontation plunges millions more into suffering, displacement and instability.
Alminaza called on the country’s leaders to pursue peace through diplomacy.*
