Japanese award for peace, inter-religion dialogue goes to PIME missionary

(June 12, 2013) A top Japanese Award for peace and inter-religious dialogue has been awarded to the Movement “Sisilah” founded by a missionary in the Philippines. Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missionas – PIME, won the 2013 Goi Peace Award, the Goi Peace Foundation announced recently. The Japanese agency, founded in 1999 in Tokyo, is committed to the promotion of peace, overcoming barriers formed by race, religion or political beliefs. The jury said it wanted the prestigious award to go to the Philippine Movement because it best mirrored the foundation’s own values. For the promoters of Sisilah, the award is a confirmation of its work in favour of inter-religious dialogue over the past decades.
In the past, the Goi Peace Award has been won by famous personalities, among them a doctor of Indian origin, Deepak Chopra. The award ceremony will be held on November 27 in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. In a letter sent to the Sisilah Movement, the members of the Foundation committee said “Your efforts have not only advanced the process towards lasting peace in your communities but have inspired many people around the world with your example of true dialogue based on spiritual values”.
Founded in 1986, for more than 20 years Sisilah has been offering projects and initiatives and training courses for young Christians and Muslims. In recent years the movement has become a point of reference for the ongoing reconciliation between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which for 40 years have fought a war that cost over 100 thousand lives.
Source: Asianews