EIRD Started in 1992

Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue (EIRD) started in the year 1992. Although every year since the 1960s of post-Vatican II the World Council of Churches (mainline Protestants) and the Pontifical Council on Ecumenism were already celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, WPU, (January 18-25), ecumenical dialogues as such have not officially started even if official moves were encouraged by the Vatican II 1967 Document Nostra Aetate (Our Age).

A couple of months after his inauguration as President of the Republic, Fidel V. Ramos in July 1992 wanted to promote peace among Christians and Muslims in the country. First, he wanted to know why there was no real peace, why there was anti-government rebellion by Filipino communists and by Filipino Muslims. Second, to find out the roots of rebellion, he launched a nationwide self-awareness movement involving all provincial and citywide research committees. Third, to coordinate all these he created the National Unification Commission (NUC) composed of 2 senators, 2 congressmen and the Chief of the Armed Forces. The NUC Secretariat was handled by three persons: Atty. Haydee Yorac representing Government, Bishop Fernando R. Capalla for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and Bishop Dr. Jesus Cariño for the National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP) of the mainline Protestant Churches.

It was through the close and frequent interactions between Bishop Capalla and Dr. Bishop Jesus Cariño as well as with their respective local committees and groups that the need for Ecumenical Dialogue came about. Two years after the foundation of the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC), official ecumenical dialogues started with the entry in 1998 of NCCP-Mindanao into the BUC with UCCP Bp. Hilario M. Gomes as official representative.

The need for dialogue as Catholic and Protestant was seen as the most easy and approach to political issues and problems because it begins with personal faith which is internal to everyone.

As a model of this, Koinonia Davao in Davao City was started by Abp. Capalla supported by Fr. Lamata and Fr. Gulae SSS, Bp Caliao of the Aglipayan Church, and Pastors of the UCCP, Methodists, Anglicans and Episcopalian Churches. The group is still active in yearly Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.