By Edwin O. Fernandez
COTABATO CITY, Dec. 26 (PNA) — Lasting peace to reign in Mindanao, end to terrorism and a flood-free Archdiocese of Cotabato were among the prayers of His Eminence Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, OMI, DD for 2015.
In his Christmas message, Cardinal Quevedo of the missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, also prayed for the acceleration of the rehabilitation efforts on rivers and tributaries as well as dilapidated infrastructure such as bridges and flood control projects.
Calling these urgent concerns, Quevedo said he is praying that a just and lasting peace in Mindanao is fully established by 2015 and that government officials and security officers may, at last, put an end to criminality and terrorist threats in Cotabato City and the country.
Cardinal Quevedo also prayed that all priority projects of the Master Plan for the Rehabilitation and Development of the Mindanao River Basin, such as Quirino Bridge, Tunggol Bridge, Dredging of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, Simuay Cut-off Channel and Long Term Measures for flood control, be initiated, resumed or accelerated as the case may be.
The country’s second cardinal and Mindanao’s first also prayed that peace and harmony among members of various religious and ethnic groups may be firmly established and mutual biases and prejudices eradicated.
He prayed that fidelity to the moral principles of integrity and accountability may be demonstrated in business and politics for the common good of all, especially of the poor and the marginalized.
”I place this prayer in the hands of the Child Jesus, Lord and Saviour, and ask the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, his mother, a woman honored in both the Qur’an and Christian Scriptures,” he said.(PNA)