PRAYER FOR PEACE. Chinese Coast Guard personnel point an axe to Philippine Navy troops on a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal on June 17, 2024. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Monday (July 8, 2024) said it is set to come out with an Oratio Imperata (mandatory prayer), for the easing of tensions in the West Philippine Sea. (Photo courtesy of AFP)
MANILA – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is set to come out with an Oratio Imperata (mandatory prayer), to pray for the easing of tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
CBCP president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David announced on Monday its release later this month to be prayed in Churches for less than six months.
“It will be a prayer for peace. An Oratio Imperata for peace in the context of what is happening in our country, in the geopolitical tension that we are experiencing. We really have to not just work for peace, but to pray for peace," David said during a press conference at the end of the 128th CBCP Plenary Assembly held in Cagayan de Oro City.
The prayer is set to be released on July 25, the feast of St. James and to be prayed until the Solemnity of the Mother of God on Jan. 1, 2025, the World Day of Peace.
David noted that as prelates, they opted to issue a prayer instead of making a stand.
“I think you could read between the lines of the prayer and know what they are talking about. We are not political leaders we are spiritual and moral leaders and we know that our compatriots, people in the country are getting tense," David said.
"We do not want to add further fuel to the tension. Nobody wants a war. Our parents were people who experienced, they were part of a generation that were traumatized by Second World War,” he added.
On July 2, the Philippines and China reaffirmed their commitment to de-escalating tensions over the WPS during the ninth meeting of their Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea (BCM) in Manila on July 2.
This is the first formal dialogue since the June 17 violent skirmish between the Chinese Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy in the Ayungin Shoal. (PNA)
