EASTERN SAMAR, Dec. 8 (PIA) -- Bishop Crispin Vasquez, in a pastoral letter, said the return of the Balangiga bells shows God's "great favor to our Local Church and by extension, our country."
"We express deep gratitude to the Almighty who has done great things for us and to so many persons and instrumentalities through whom the Lord has manifested his love," the letter stated.
Further, Varquez called for forgiveness and reconciliation. "Let us therefore rejoice over the return of the Balangiga Bells. But we must also constantly return to the Lord and to one another by our continuing renewal and reconciliation," he said.
According to reports, the bells will be returned to the Philippines on Decemer 11, 2018 at the Villamor Airbase in a ceremony to be attended by President Rodrigo Duterte and U.S. Defense Assistant Secretary Joseph Felter.
U.S. troops who fought during the Philippine-American War took the Balangiga Bells as war booty from the St. Lawrence Parish Church in Balangiga, Eastern Samar. (NQ/PIA 8)
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