An ecumenical delegation of prominent church leaders from the Philippines is set to arrive in Oslo in September to meet with Norwegian church leaders to advocate the resumption of peace talks between the Government of Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and National Democratic Front (NDF).
In Oslo, the delegation will be meeting with its Norwegian counterpart, the Norwegian Ecumenical Peace Platform and the Christian Council of Norway for a conference on peace. Among the speakers for this conference are Norwegian Peace expert Johan Galtung and Oslo Catholic Bishop Bernt Eidsvig.
A Catholic mass and fellowship meal with the Filipino community at the St. Olav Church are also in the delegation’s schedule. Church services will also be held at Moss, Stabæk, and Bærum, including one to set at the Royal chapel.
The peace talks between the Philippine government collapsed in 2005. Since then, the Royal Norwegian government which acts as third party facilitator to the talks had been meeting both parties in informal consultations to revive the scuttled talks, the latest of which was held in May this year.
