I was born in Acitrezza, Italy, a small village near the sea. Since I was a child, I could see in front of my house a small island. At the back, one can be struck with awe at the enormous sight of Etna, the biggest volcano in Europe.
Born in 1942, during the Second World War, I experienced all the difficulties of that time in spite of the fact that my family owned some businesses which was meant to make my childhood not so difficult.
Since childhood, the many conflicts that I encountered made me to reflect, “Why does everyone act an island, without proper connection and love with others?” Yes, war, conflicts, poverty and divisions have been my first experience in life. In spite of these, I was a young boy full of life and had many friends, especially in the parish. My family was very religious, especially my mother. I was influenced by them to enter the diocesan seminary at the age of ten.
In the seminary of Acirecle, my diocese, l learned many things, especially to play football, but also to pray and study.
It was in the seminary when I started to know about the missions. I liked listening to the stories of missionaries who visited the seminary from time to time.
I was touched by the life of the missionaries. I became very active in promoting the missionary spirit in the seminary, until one day, a missionary came and among the other stories told to us, “My dear seminarians, we have only one life and we have to spend it in the best of the way. What do you do with your life?”
I was struck by this question so deeply that I said to myself, “I want to become a missionary. This will be the best way I’ll spend my life.”
From that time on, I started to pray and share this desire to my spiritual director up to the time that, after the philosophy years in the seminary, I decided to join a missionary institute called PIME (Pontificio Instituto Misioni Estere / Pontifical institute for Foreign Missions).
I studied theology during the Vatican II council (1962-65). Among the many new inspiring documents promulgated by Vatican II, I was touched by the strong invitation to interreligious dialogue also known at that time as the ‘new way’ of the mission. It invites the Church to reach out all, including people of other religions in the spirit of dialogue. Thus, the invitation of dialogue coming from the Vatican was not towards “conversion. Rather, this invitation is centered on ‘witnessing the love of God’ as Christians and to develop what we now call ‘Interreligious or Interfaith Dialogue”.
After my ordination 1966, I was assigned as in-charge of the PIME seminary in Sicily. After few years I was sent with other two PIME fathers to a more challenging mission with the youth in the critical times of the 1968, a time of the new youth revolution.
We have been able to help many youth to dream with us as a new society with renewed Christian life. That was also the time when we, the three PIME fathers, as a group asked superiors to send us to the mission in order to witness the dream that we were able to plant into the hearts of many youth.
Our first destination was Mindanao in the Philippines. Mindanao was a land of conflict with a lot of problems under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., the Martial Law and an ongoing conflict between the government and a Muslim group called Moro National liberation Front (MNLF). This dramatic situation aggravated by poverty and the discrimination of the Subanon, an indigenous group in the area of my mission in Sioco, Zamboanga del Norte, challenged me to give more attention to the Muslims and the ongoing conflict. With my limited knowledge of the local language at the beginning, I approached many refugees. They were surprised to see me, a young foreigner and priest giving attention to them.
That beginning led me to initiate many other efforts to live with the Muslims, gain friendship and move together to the point that I was invited by an MNLF commander from that area to be their negotiator, as a bridge between them and the government. I didn’t hesitate to say “Yes” in spite of the fact that it was dangerous. I was always ready to take a risk when am convinced that I can help. The two years of my life with the MNLF rebels – going up and down the mountainous forests of Zamboanga del Norte – was a chapter of my life that I cannot forget as I describe in a book titled, “Call to a dream.”
It was a dream with a lot of love on the part of the people, especially Muslims, but also hatred on the part of the military because my presence became an obstacle to them in their strategy to kill and oppress people. Because of this, in a few occasions, they tried to kill me. But the Lord saved me in many ways. This chapter of my missionary life reached a turn when my superiors called me back to Italy because it became too dangerous for me to remain in that area. I didn’t surrender my dream to continue the mission of dialogue. I subsequently studied in Rome in an institute called Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI). This experience helped me not only to study, but also to travel in many Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
In 1983, I was sent back to the Philippines as the PIME regional superior and I was able to start in Zamboanga City (Mindanao) the SIlsilah Dialogue Movement. The choice of the word, “Silsilah” was part of my reflection during the time of my study in PISAI. I was able to discover the Sufi movements in Islam and I came to discover that the best form of dialogue must be guided by the spirituality of life-in-dialogue. The Arabic word ‘Silsilah’ means “chain or link.” Through this concept, I present the spiritual link that connects people of different religions including Muslims and Christians. These adherents are guided by different approaches. But however different they might seem, they bring those who are sincere in their search, back to God.
Guided by this spirit, we in Silsilah say, “Dialogue starts from God and brings people back to God.”
Officially, we started the “Silsilah Dialogue Movement” in May 9, 1984. From that time on, we experienced a lot of challenges from Christian and Muslim communities. We started to pray together using our own way to pray. In 1985 we started the publication, “Silsilah.”
This new beginning and other efforts of dialogue from Silsilah inspired the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to establish a specific commission that focuses on Interreligious Dialogue that would give specific attention to Muslim-Christian Dialogue starting from Mindanao. Back then, the young Bishop Fernando Capalla who chaired the newly established commission asked me to be its first executive secretary and to open an office next to the Silsilah Center in the center of Zamboanga City.
However, coinciding with the appearance of these new signs of dialogue, was the emergence of the renewed “Muslim Radical/Terrorist groups” on the international level and also in Mindanao. Young Muslims from Mindanao were trained abroad and were sent back to Mindanao and Zamboanga City where Silsilah was already developed and at that time has already been offering the Silsilah Summer Course on Muslim-Christian Dialogue. That was the time when my good friend, Fr. Salvatore Carzedda, PIME was killed. He was with me in Italy and came with me to our first mission in Siocon. He was a young priest full of enthusiasm in doing the mission with us in Silsilah.
Unfortunately, it was also the time when the radical Muslim group in Zamboanga called ‘Abu Sayyaf’ became disturbed or even agitated to see that Silsilah was successful in promoting dialogue among Muslims and Christians. They planned to eliminate the leaders of this emerging group. Those more visible were Fr. Salvatore and myself. During the summer course, their plan to kill us was done. God allowed that only Fr. Salvatore was killed on May 20, 1992. The impact was great in all of us. But we decided to continue the mission. We were inspired by the expression dear to Fr. Salvatore: “Padayon” (Move on).
Because of what happened, I was again sent for my second exile to Italy. Despite this, but Silsilah continued. I came back to the Philippines after three years and we continue the mission. Today, Silsilah is present in many parts of Mindanao and Luzon and is present in Italy. We wish to move on in many ways.
Along the years, different Christian institutions from dioceses, Jesuits, Dominicans, Redemptionists and Claritians, etc. – have been sent to Silsilah for formation during the summer course and in many other formation programs. Muslim leaders from Malaysia and other schools and organization were also sent for special formation programs in Silsilah. We know that these organizations and schools have started their commitment to interreligious dialogue in the Philippines and other countries including Malaysia and Indonesia. Among the alumni of the annual Silsilah Summer Course are Church leaders like the now Davao Archbishop-Emeritus Fernando Capalla. Among these alumni are what we consider martyrs of Muslim-Christian Dialogue. There are four of them: Fr. Salvatore Carzedda, PIME killed in Zamboanga City, Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, CMF killed in Basilan, Fr. Reynaldo Jesus Roda, OMI killed in Tawi-tawi and Bishop Benjamin de Jesus, OMI killed in Jolo.
Indeed, the seed of interreligious dialogue planted during Vatican II as “New ways” along the years has grown even among difficulties and challenges. The experience of Silsilah and the Church in many ways became more visible. Pope Francis with the Grand Imam of Al-zhar University wrote together the document, “Human Fraternity”.
My good friend, Bishop Bienvenido Tudtud who many of us consider a prophet of dialogue in Mindanao, one day told me, “Go on with Silsilah.” He added, “… but remember, this is a mission of one hundred years.” In the past I didn’t believe in it. But now after thirty-eight years from the beginning of Silsilah, I can say, “Yes, he was right and we have to continue this mission, even it is difficult. It is a mission of love and with love we can see new horizons of dialogue.”
Silsilah Dialogue Movement has inspired many in different places.
One new experience and movement that branched out from Silsilah is the Emmaus Dialogue Movement formed by Catholics who embrace the spirituality of life-in-dialogue taught by Silsilah living it out fully and is guided by the Beatitudes of Jesus as rule of life. Thanks to Aminda E. Saño, EDC, who started to live as lay consecrated, also married Catholics, Priests, Sisters and young people, Emmaus Dialogue Movement is now a new reality in the Philippines and Italy acknowledged by the Church. Two years ago, Emmaus Dialogue Movement started the Emmaus College of Theology which offers Bachelor of Science in Theology, Major on Interreligious Dialogue with the following mission:
- To offer holistic formation and educational program to young Catholics;
- To nurture their vocation in the spirit of dialogue with people of all cultures and religions;
- To share their love and service especially to the poor and less-privileged in life.
Today, the spirit of dialogue begins to enter into Christian communities. The effort of moving toward a Synodal Church is helping in the proper direction but there is still a lot of fear and prejudices across cultures and religious, especially among Muslims and Christians. This reality causes discouragement in many. On my part, I learned that even in difficult situations, love and respect is the answer. We give witness to the spirit of dialogue through what we in Silsilah call “Culture of Dialogue” based on the four pillars of dialogue—Dialogue with God, with the Self, with Others and with Creation. This makes our dialogue more credible and helps us to move toward a dialogue as a journey, toward a dialogue as pilgrimage because it helps us to move together in the variety of faiths toward God. This helps us to discover that the spirituality of dialogue must be the base of any sustainable dialogue. Such form of dialogue finally guides us to a dialogue as an adventure in which we trust God fully.
Indeed, it is a long journey and I am convinced that at the end, we can see God in each person and love all as brothers and sisters.
Fr. Sebastiano D’ Ambra, PIME