Bishop Socrates Mesiona, the Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Princesa recently visited Muslim leader Hadji Jamael Kasim, highlighting the growing interreligious rapport in Palawan, the country’s largest province by land area.
PHILIPPINES: Bishop Socrates Mesiona, the Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Princesa recently visited Muslim leader Hadji Jamael Kasim, highlighting the growing interreligious rapport in Palawan, the country’s largest province by land area.
The bishop’s visit aimed to express solidarity with Kasim and the Muslim community. “I wanted to show you respect as a leader,” Bishop Mesiona shared with Kasim.
Kasim, in turn, expressed gratitude for the gesture. “It’s the first time a priest, a bishop, has visited me,” he said in Filipino. “We also see each other at events in the plaza,” he added, referring to interfaith gatherings in the province.
Kasim reassured the bishop of the continued spirit of interfaith tolerance and harmony in the region. “We are like a broom; when bound together, no one will say this one is a Muslim, and that one is a Christian,” he said in Filipino.
“We are all humans, after all,” Bishop Mesiona responded. Kasim acknowledged the strong bond between Christians and Muslims in Palawan, noting the harmonious relationship within the community.
Palawan, while predominantly Christian, has a notable Muslim population, especially in the southern part of the province, making up about 10 per cent of the population. The province’s religious landscape is shaped by the influence of the Sulu Sultanate and Brunei Muslim missionaries.
Interfaith cooperation in Palawan also extends to joint initiatives like environmental conservation, including seaside clean-ups.
The bishop’s visit took place early on the morning of March 10, at Kasim’s store in Balabac, a town in Palawan. He was accompanied by Divine Word Fr Rodrigo Salazar, parish priest of the ICP Balabac Parish, and several parish church leaders.
– Source: heraldmalaysia.com
