Pope: Peace is always possible

MANILA, Philippines - The world may never be completely free of armed conflict, but peace is always possible, as far as Pope Francis is concerned.

Francis issued the statement as he called for an end to wars in an opening message read at the start of an international meeting on peace held in Tirana, Albania from Sept. 6 to 8.

The peace panels of the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who attended the meeting supported the call.

“It is necessary to reaffirm that peace is always possible. We must never be resigned to war! And we must not be indifferent in front of people who suffer from war and violence,” Pope Francis said in his message.

“To state that peace is always possible is not naivety… We are required be involved, personally and through our communities, in the great work of peace,” he added.

In his five-day state and pastoral visit to the Philippines last January, Pope Francis also commended the efforts in achieving peace in Mindanao and expressed confidence that the peace process would succeed.

For their part, the government and MILF peace panels have supported the “Appeal for Peace” calling for a decisive response to the global refugee crisis.

The appeal was issued during the closing ceremonies of the international meeting “Peace is Always Possible – Religions and Cultures in Dialogue,” which was organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio in cooperation with the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania and the Albanian Episcopal Conference.?

Government peace panel chairman Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF peace panel member Abhoud Syed Lingga participated in the meeting and shared their insights on the Mindanao peace process in a panel discussing the deteriorating situation in Syria and the Boko Haram in Nigeria.