Moro to join Pinoy Catholics in World Youth Day

A 17-year-old Moro, Yussef Paglas, is joining the Filipino Catholic delegation to the World Youth Day in Spain amid the Islamic observance of Ramadan, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Sunday. Paglas, a politician’s son, wants to attend the WYD “to become a better leader," the CBCP said on its website. “You need to know the beliefs of others so that you can understand their situation and know how to help them," he said. As for the Islamic observance of Ramadan, Paglas said he still intends to fast, recite Islamic prayers, and read the Koran during the WYD. “I’ll take it as a challenge," he said. Paglas is the first Moro to join the delegation of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY) to the WYD, the CBCP quoted ECY executive secretary Fr. Conegundo Garganta as saying. The WYD celebrations will take place from August 18 to 21. Only one God “I don’t see myself differently from the rest just because of my religion. For me, we only have one God, whom we see in different ways," Paglas said. Saying he is able to relate to Catholics, Paglas has been educated in a Catholic school since kindergarten and has Catholic friends, the CBCP said. Nothing stops Muslims, as well as young people from other religious groups, from participating in the Catholic-initiated WYD, Garganta said. He added that in fact, bishops’ conferences of countries with a dominant Muslim population have sent young Muslims to WYD events in the past. Garganta said the ECY welcomed Paglas primarily to “show how welcoming the Catholic Church is of other faith groups." During the WYD vigil with Pope Benedict XVI, Paglas will also be seated “very near" to the Pope among selected representatives from different countries, Garganta said. Meanwhile, young Filipinos who cannot travel to Spain for WYD can participate, at least vicariously, through a website set up by the CBCP, said EYC chairperson and Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon. “Every single young person is invited to participate in the WYD spiritually and in many ways that they can," Baylon said. — LBG, GMA News