To dialogue is to be human

I left Davao City on August 26 for Fort Harcourt Diocese in Rivers State, Nigeria, in West Africa, with Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Peña and Secular Daughters of St. Anne local superior Ms. Lou Q. Solijon. We were invited by Fr. Emmanuel Edeh, CssP, founder of the Pilgrimage Center for Eucharistic Devotion and Special Marian Devotion. We were privileged to be in the company of the Papal Nuncio to Nigeria and Philippine Ambassador to Nigeria Shirley Ho Vicario and together with 10 Nigerian bishops.

We came back to Manila in September 1. On September 3 Ms. Solijon and I flew to Ho Chi Minh City to attend the Asian Conference of Secular Institutes (ACSI) for 4 days graced by the presence and address of His Eminence Joao Cardinal Bras Avis Vatican’s prefect of the Congregation of Societies of Religious and Apostolic Life which includes the Secular Institutes worldwide.

We came back to Davao on September 9. On September 10 alone I flew to Cagayan de Oro on the way to Iligan City for a meeting on September 11 with Muslim and Christian religious leaders on the topic, How the Marawi siege affected us as religious leaders? I will be back in Davao on September 12.

From August 26 to September 11 I have met, listened and talked to several persons of different religions and cultures. Once again I was reminded of our common humanity. And to discover and appreciate its beauty and mystery is to engage in humane and respectful dialogue. For, to dialogue is to be human.