News
While meeting in Amman, Jordan, from 17-23 November, the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee issued a statement on the detention of Bishop Carlos Morales and the situation in Mindanao, Philippines.
Morales, of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI, or Philippine Independent Church), has been in detention since May 2017 on suspicion of possession of explosives. His arrest on 11 May 2017 in Ozamiz City occurred against a background of escalating tensions and violence in the longstanding conflict in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.
The WCC executive committee statement says: “Bishop Morales is a respected church leader from the IFI, a member church of the WCC, and is well-known for his activism for dialogue, justice and peace in Mindanao.”
The executive committee stated that it believes strongly in the innocence of the charges laid against Morales, and called for legal proceedings in the bishop’s case to be concluded expeditiously, for his release on bail, and for his ultimate exoneration.
The executive committee says: “We further call fora: the lifting of martial law in Mindanao – in effect since May 2017 – as soon as possible; no wider geographic application of martial law in the Philippines; reconstruction of the city of Marawi destroyed in fighting between government forces and militants linked to the so-called ‘Islamic State’ group; and the release of all political prisoners in the Philippines – as President Duterte committed to do during his campaign for election to this office.”
The WCC executive committee especially called for renewed initiatives for dialogue and negotiations, in order to bring a sustainable end to the violence and bloodshed which has so long prevented the realization of a just peace in the region.
“We pray for Bishop Morales, that he be strengthened, comforted and supported through this ordeal, and that he be affirmed in his ministry for justice and peace,” the statement concluded.
WCC Executive Committee to convene in Amman, WCC press release 16 November, 2017
