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Join no to war crusade, pray for peace - Bishop

Visayan Daily Star 

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra yesterday called for prayers for peace throughout the Diocese of Bacolod, and for everyone to join the "No to War" crusade as the United States edges closer to war with Iraq. Navarra also called on Negrenses to join an interfaith prayer rally with the theme "Peace in Possible" at the Bacolod Public Plaza 5 p.m. Thursday. Parishes and chaplaincies outside Bacolod should hold simultaneous observances of prayer rallies, he said. Feb. 10 to 18 are days for Prayer for Peace, he said, adding that the call to prayer should be marked with the ringing of church bells. In anticipation of a war in Iraq, Philippine National Police Chief Hermgenes Ebdane, who was in In loilo City Saturday, said the police and military are now formulating contingency plans for "worst case scenarios" involving terrorist attacks. The PNP is closely coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other government agencies, he said. Ebdane, however, said he hopes they don't have to implement these contingency plans.

Chief Supt Marcelo Navarro Jr., PNP regional director, said the police has established an Area Coordinating Center, bomb centers and a Boracay defense force to thwart any terrorist attacks on Western Visayas. Gregorio Rosal, spokesman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, earlier said the New People's Army will launch tactical offensives against the military and police as he criticized President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for supporting the United States in its war of aggression against Iraq. Navarra told the DAILY STAR Arroyo should reflect the sentiments of the Filipino people for peace, rather than supporting US President George Bush position on Iraq. Arroyo last week said she was convinced that Iraq is maintaining "weapons of mass destruction" as well as links to terrorist groups. She urged the United Nations to act with dispatch and force should Iraq fail to disarm.

The majority of the Filipino people's sentiments are for peace, Navarra said. She should take into account the safety and security of our people by pushing for peace, the bishop said. In a circular letter released yesterday, the bishop said "certainly peace is possible through respect and dialog, prayer and reconciliation." Navarra said as Pope John Paul II clearly puts it - "dialog is the only just and noble path to agreement and reconciliation, and that the patient and wise art of peacemaking is especially blessed by God." Navarra called yesterday a day of Prayer for Peace and directed that all liturgical celebrations be intended and offered for peace.

He also asked that the official statement of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on "No to War" be incorporated in homilies "so that the faithful might be enlightened and be compelled to pray always for peace. "A war would seriously inflict great damage on the people of Iraq and their neighbors. Our own economy and people would most certainly be affected," the CBCP statement said. The CBCP called of the United States and the United Nations to "settle without recourse to arms the grave issues that threaten to become the causes of war." It called on the US and UN to persevere in the dialog for peace, and Iraq to cooperate fully with the UN by allowing unimpeded weapons inspections. "War is always a defeat for humanity," it said.

The CBCP also appealed to Philippine authorities not to support a pre-emptive strike on Iraq. "We ask our people to pray ardently for peace and to work for peace, knowing that God's cause must truly be our own," the CBCP said.*CPG /GPB

THE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has organized a national day of prayer for peace throughout the country.

Here in Manila, the EDSA Shrine will be the venue for a celebration of the Eucharist. The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Franco, will be the principal celebrant of the Mass at 4:30 in the afternoon, with Jaime L. Cardinal Sin and the auxiliary bishops of Manila officiating with him. The bishops of the dioceses surrounding Metro Manila will also participate. Following the Eucharist, Cardinal Sin will lead the recitation of the Rosary. Similar celebrations are being organized in the other dioceses of the country.