Priest among PH peacekeepers in standoff with Syrian rebels

U.N. peacekeepers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, also known as UNDOF, observe Syria’s Quneitra province at an observation point on Mt. Bental in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, overlooking the border with Syria, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. AP

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino priest is part of the Philippine contingent which is currently in a standoff with Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights, according to Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak.

Tumulak, head of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, said that the Filipino chaplain was accompanying the country’s contingent under the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force.

However, Tumulak did not reveal the chaplain’s identity.

Chaplains “take care of the spiritual needs” of Filipino peacekeepers, Tumulak said in a post on the website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

He explained that chaplains celebrate Mass inside military installations, hear confessions, provide spiritual counseling and spiritual direction.

Tumulak called on Filipinos to pray for the safety of the Filipino peacekeepers, who have been holding their line in two camps at the UN-controlled Golan Heights since Thursday after rejecting a demand from Syrian rebels that they surrender their firearms.

 
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