Bishop: Peace-building efforts must go on despite chapels' desecration

The desecration of religious statues in two chapels in Lamitan City in Southern Mindanao should not stand in the way of peace-building efforts, Bishop Leo Dalmao said in a statement for all the faithful in the prelature of Isabela de Basilan.

An article on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' "CBCP News" quoted the bishop as saying that the recent attacks will in no way distract their works to promote interreligious dialogue.

Religious statues in two chapels in Lamitan City were found destroyed by unknown assailants on Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season for Catholics.

On Feb. 16, an attempted theft of religious icons in another chapel in the city was foiled by some residents.

While Bishop Dalmao condemned the atrocities he also stressed that the acts of desecration should not derail peace-building efforts in the area.

“I remind everyone to be vigilant and refuse any opportunity for these bad elements to succeed in sowing division and hatred among us,” Dalmao said.

“We will not allow ourselves to be dictated by the agenda of these people and we don’t want to dignify their actions by giving them and their actions undue attention and publicity,” he said.

He asked the faithful to pray intensely that their efforts of a peaceful and progressive province will be sustained in spite of the recent incidents.

“We may fix our gaze on what brings us together as a province -- Christians, Muslims, indigenous peoples -- rather than on what divides us,” he said. —LBG, GMA News