OFWs offer prayers for hostage tragedy victims

Catholic overseas Filipino workers in at least 70 countries have offered solidarity prayers for the families of the victims of a bloody hostage crisis in Manila last Monday that left eight tourists from Hong Kong dead. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Sunday it had called on Filipino communities worldwide to pray particularly for the victims' kin. “The prayer is an invitation where among possible consequence to the worsening RP-HK relationship, the lives and works of our Filipino migrants are at stake," CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People executive secretary Fr. Edwin Corros said in an article on the CBCP news site. Corros said he emailed the prayer to chaplains and lay leaders in about 70 countries worldwide. He also asked his counterparts to offer this Sunday's masses for the families of the hostage victims in Manila “particularly for the people of Hong Kong who feel so aggrieved by the poor handling of our government officials." The official particularly called for the recitation of the prayer “Solidarity Prayer for Healing for the Families of the Hostage Victims." “No amount of tears shed could bring back those precious lives of the innocent," part of the prayer went. It also asked for “healing for those who mourn and those who continue to feel the pain." Corros, who composed the prayer, asked for God’s guidance during the time of confusion as he sought to “calm the sore wounds" of hearts. He also asked for God’s healing with a call that all parties may learn to forgive and be reconciled with one another. “This is only possible in our great faith in you as we unite all our prayers as Filipinos working and living around the world," the prayer ended. In Manila, Filipinos went to "ground zero" Sunday to pay their respects to victims of the hostage crisis. A report by dzBB radio's Allan Gatus said many Filipinos went to the Quirino Grandstand to offer flowers and light candles in memory of the victims. The offerings were placed at the site where the 11-hour standoff ensued last Monday. The area was surrounded with steel railings. Also on Sunday, churches in Manila Archdiocese offered prayers for the victims as well as for their relatives. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales earlier said Monday's incident may have tainted the country's image, but Filipinos should now take up the challenge to redeem the country's image before the world. “Let us uplift the image of our country by proving to them that not all (Filipinos) are like (hostage-taker Senior Inspector) Rolando Mendoza," he said in a separate article on the CBCP news site. Mendoza took a busload of tourists from Hong Kong hostage last Monday, demanding his reinstatement and the dropping of charges against him. However, he and eight of his hostages were killed when police assaulted the bus following a daylong standoff. The incident prompted outrage from Hong Kong residents who criticized the Philippine government for its supposedly poor handling of the situation. "It’s really a black eye. That’s the worst thing that happened to us," Rosales said. “It's a pity for a country like the Philippines when one does something wrong, it ruins the country's image. That's the sad reality when one creates trouble and gets publicized or reported to the whole world. That's not good," he added. CBCP president Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar appealed to the international community not to take the tragedy against all Filipinos. - KBK, GMANews.TV