Manila:'s young Taizé community members pray in silence

(Feb.09,2010): In the Philippines, some 3,000 young Christians and Muslims from Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America, took part in the fifth pilgrimage organised by the Taizé community. Titled ‘Trust on earth’, the five-day event ended on Sunday in Manila. The aim of the meeting was to help young people find God and fulfil their desire to work for the Church and society, not only through meetings and testimonials but also through prayers. The last time the Taizé community met in Asia was in Kolkata, India in 2006. For Br Alois Löser, current head of the Taizé community, the meeting is a pilgrimage of reconciliation. “We try to bring people together from different backgrounds to listen to each other and to share. The world must respect the principles of universal solidarity, social justice and responsibility” Br Alois said, adding that this can only occur with a change in the human heart. Card Gaudencio Rosales, archbishop of Manila, took part in the event as well. In his concluding homily, the prelate urged young people to bear witness to the Christian faith in the world, insisting that they promote peace and hope in their respective societies. The ecumenical community of Taizé was founded in France in 1940 by Brother Roger Schütz. It arrived in the Philippines in the 1970s.