February 14 is the so-called Valentine's Day, an imported holiday celebration from the USA. We have been Filipinizing it culturally with questionable results? You judge. Recently the UN honored Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb of Cairo thru a decree on International Human Fraternity Day...
Fraternity is a state of human relationship created by a common unifying bond which entitles one person to call another his brother or her sister. In a family, the common bond is blood. In parental adoption, it is the document. In Christianity it is sacramental baptism. Outside...
We wrote in the previous Shalom that Pope Francis and Cairo Grand Imam Al-Tayyeb have issued a four-part formula for forming human fraternities. we showed it in the same article. It was also mentioned that Fratelli Tutti is the Pope's own way of making the...
Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome has an answer. The Grand Muslim Imam Ahmed Al-Tayebb at the Al-Azhar University, Cairo City, Egypt, has also an answer. But first a simple story. In a school for future rabbi in the Jewish society, a simplistic...
In the last Shalom written in December 2020 but intended for January 03, 2021, the title was a general personal comment on Fratelli Tutti as Pope Francis' solution to the world's problems by minimizing them through human fraternity and social friendship. I promised to explain...
This seems to be the over-all purpose of Fratelli Tutti. It is precisely the title of the encyclical itself thus highlighting its importance. How will the Pope achieve such a grandiose world plan even just to minimize the extent of the problem? I use the word "minimize"...
In the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) we have what may be called a Tripartite Faith Experience. Tripartite refers to the Catholic Faith of Christians who are Catholic, to the Islamic Faith of believers who are Muslims, and to the Protestant Faith of Christian believers who are...
I am writing this article in the morning of 14 December 2020. On the 16th we will begin the celebration of an early dawn religious cultural event popularly called Misa de Gallo. Due to the two political and health circumstances in the past and the...
In last week's Shalom I made a slight mention of one level in our practice of interreligious and ecumenical dialogues. I was referring to what we call faith sharing as a form of dialogue. For the past 45 years or so we Catholic bishops, Muslim ulama,...
For the past three years or so I have been teaching twice a week, Wednesday and Friday, a one-hour course for the Fourth Year Theology students of the Regional Major Seminary or REMASE here in Davao City. This year I have to say, Sorry to REMASE! I...