Sharing Gospel values with Muslims for peace in Mindanao
Manila (AsiaNews) - Promoting inter-faith dialogue by sharing the values of the Gospel with Muslims in schools and teaching the culture of peace. This is the purpose of Franciscan Fr. Randy Rendora Glore and Sr. and Claire Marie R. Sy, a Carmelite Missionary of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. They both work in the province of Lanao del Sur in Mindanao, a region plagued for over 40 years by the war between the Philippine army and Islamic rebels.
Fr. Randy Glore Rendora has always fulfilled his mission among the Catholics. He recently had the opportunity to spend a whole month as a guest in a Muslim family of Sogod, a small village near the city of Marawi (Lanao del Sur), where he shared with them the experience of the Gospel. "I was very anxious - he says - because of my prejudices about Muslims, mainly due to the images seen through the media, but they treated me like a family member and changed my name to Achmad, which in Arabic means ‘constant thanks to God '. " The missionary stresses the need to share the values of the Gospel with Muslims. "Without this approach - he says - faith is not genuine and there can never be a true dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Mindanao."
Sister Claire Marie works instead as a teacher in the Diocese of Malaybalay (Lanao del Sur). Once a month along with two other sisters, the nun holds seminars and training courses in more than 50 religious and spiritual schools of the area.
'It is important to teach young students the culture of peace – the nun remarks- students and families of both faiths want peace for the region. "
The lessons are aimed at teachers, students and parents of both faiths. "The mission of the Church - she says - is to promote and invest in interreligious dialogue, as missionaries and we must give our time and strength to help new generations to love each other and have respect for people of different faiths."
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11/11/2008
