Franciscan Dialogue Program 2019

June 30, 2019 - The second part of the year-long celebration of the 8th centenary of the meeting of the St. Francis and Sultan Al-Malik al-Kāmil initiated by the Custody of St. Anthony of Padua – Philippines was successfully held at Silsilah Center for Dialogue in Brgy. Sinunoc, Zamboanga City. Some Muslim brothers and sisters, members of the Franciscan family who are undergoing the Franciscan Dialogue Program (FDP) and other guests attended the event. The forum started with a film appreciation of the multi-awarded movie “The Sultan and the Saint” produced by Unity Production Foundation (UPF). Known for its scholarly, relevant, and dialogue-promoting re-telling of the encounter, the participants were ushered to revisit the event in our time. Br. Joel de Jesus, OFMCap and Ustad Garson Hamja deepened the narrative with brief history and the life of the saint and the sultan respectively. Br. Joel shared how God’s calling radically changed Francis’ dream from being a crusader of war to a crusader of peace while Ustad Hamja highlighted the faithfulness of the peace-loving sultan on the teaching of Islam. “When the two persons longing for peace met together, dialogue begins,” Ustad capped his talk. The distinguished promoters of Muslim and Christian Dialogue who served as panel of reactors namely: Fr. Sebastian D’Ambra, PIME, Atty. Mohammad Taha Aracama and Rev. Ronald Paulino appreciated the initiatives of the Franciscans on this difficult but challenging mission. They encouraged everyone to offer their part in promoting peace especially in Mindanao.