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Church offers Mass for OFWs' safety
24 July 2006 - The Catholic Church has offered prayers for the safety of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Lebanon and Israel as fighting between the two countries has become more intense.
Organized by the CBCP Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) together with the Manila Archdiocesan Ministry, a special mass was held yesterday at the Nuestra Seņora de Guia Church in Ermita, Manila.
The Archdiocese of Manila, meanwhile, has started integrating in all its Masses a special prayer for peace in the Holy Land as well as the entire Middle East yesterday.
The full text of the prayer reads as follows:
"We pray for peace in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land and Lebanon. May the governments at war with each other come to realize that nobody wins in war and that peace is the only way to genuine community of humankind. We pray to the Lord."
"We pray for those who are suffering and grieving because of this conflict of powers in the Holy Land and Lebanon, that they may continue to hold on to the power of love and peace rather than the destruction of hatred and vengeance. We pray to the Lord."
Earlier, a message was relayed by the Vatican through Papal Nuncio Archbishop Fernando Filoni asking the CBCP to offer special prayers for unity in the war-ravaged region.
Filoni then requested CBCP President Archbishop Angel Lagdameo to immediately convey the message of Pope Benedict XVI to all the Philippine bishops.
CBCP President Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, for his part, promptly responded by sending a circular letter containing the Pope's message to all the bishops.
In the letter, the Pope said, "what is happening in the Holy Land... is a cause of new and serious concern for everyone, especially for the many victims among the civilian population."
"At the root of such pitiless contrasts there are unfortunately... violations of rights and of justice," he said.
The Pope, however, said that neither terroristic acts nor reprisals, especially when they have such tragic consequences on the civilian population, can be justified.
"Bitter experience shows that by following this path no positive results can be (achieved)," he added.
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