JOLO, Philippines (UCAN) -- Christian and Muslim religious leaders and their guests arrived in this southern Philippine town on Nov. 18 aboard a military aircraft for the general assembly of their interreligious dialogue group.

Eighty Catholic and Protestant bishops and ulama (Islamic scholars) belonging to the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC), and 15 staff members and guests from Christian youth and media organizations walked down a plank from the back of the plane around 2:15 p.m. at Jolo airport.

Jolo, capital of Sulu province, is 950 kilometers southeast of Manila.

The group arrived for the 35th BUC General Assembly, being held Nov. 18-21 at Notre Dame of Jolo College. Thirty of the bishops and ulama are living with Christian and Muslim families, while others are staying at religious centers and houses.

The BUC secretariat described the meeting as an "unprecedented and historical religious gathering" being held "despite fears of kidnapping by the notorious Abu Sayyaf gang."

At a welcoming ceremony in the college gym, Mayor Hussein Amin thanked the delegates for coming despite his town's reputation for kidnappings and violence by the extremist group.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan also addressed the religious leaders. "I am happy you are here," he said, asking them to witness to peace in Sulu.

During the past decade, two priests and a bishop, all Oblates of Mary Immaculate, have been killed while serving in the province.

Catholic Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao convened the BUC in 1996 with the late Mahid Mutilan, president of the Ulama League of the Philippines (ULP), as a vehicle for religious leaders to contribute to peace and development in Mindanao, the southern Philippines.

The archbishop is leading the Jolo assembly with ULP president Aleem Aboali Cali and Bishop Hilario Gomez Jr. of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

For Oblate Bishop Angelito Lampon of Jolo, holding the BUC meeting in his vicariate brings hope for dialogue between Christian and Muslim clerics in the province.

"Since the death of Imam Ismi Yacob in 2005, we have not been able to have the kind of dialogue we had before," when the late mosque prayer leader participated in the BUC, Bishop Lampon told UCA News. He said the current "good Muslim leaders" have expressed fear of what extremist groups would do to them if they entered into dialogue.

However, dialogue is a vital step to better understanding among Muslims and Christians in his vicariate, the prelate insisted.

Catholics comprise roughly 2 percent of slightly more than 1 million people in the area served by the vicariate. Oblate priests, 35 Religious sisters and six Religious brothers serve in five parishes, a sub-parish, five mission stations, 13 Catholic schools and other ministries. The vicariate serves Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces, comprising more than 450 islands and islets.

On Jan. 15 this year, armed men shot and killed Father Jesus Reynaldo Roda, reportedly after the 53-year-old priest refused to leave the Notre Dame school on Tabawan, an island in Tawi-Tawi, with them. Father Benjamin Inocencio was shot in the head just behind Jolo cathedral in 2000. Three years earlier, Bishop Benjamin de Jesus was also shot to death near the church. All three killings remain unsolved.

Assembly sessions are being held at the college's Bishop Benjamin de Jesus Center.

Workshops that began on Nov. 19 aim at planning for community-based dialogues for peace in the wake of revived fighting after negotiators for the government and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front failed to sign a peace agreement in August.

The workshop discussions will focus on assessing the level of understanding of peace in Mindanao, crafting a common vision of peace and assessing actual conditions of peace relative to that vision. They seek to recommend concrete actions for peace, assembly materials say.

Strict security measures were taken in transporting the delegates and guests. On Nov. 18, participants from outside Sulu gathered in Zamboanga City, on the main southern island of Mindanao, where they boarded the plane at Edward Andrews Air Force Base.

Assisted by 25 military men carrying M-16 rifles, participants stood in groups of 10 so trained dogs could sniff for explosives. They then sat on benches or stood in the plane for the 30-minute flight to Jolo with military guards.

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