Cardinal Quevedo statement on MSU Marawi bombing

The massacre at the Mindanao State University Gym in Marawi City during Sunday Mass this morning is a crime that literally cries out to heaven.

Perpetrated on the 1st Sunday of Advent, a season of hope, and at the beginning of the Mindanao Week of Peace, the massacre is the most terrible and most damnable terroristic crime against innocent worshippers on a Christian holy day.

It is a tragic re-enactment of the insane bombing in the Jolo Cathedral during Sunday Mass several years ago.

Voices will call out for revenge.

But the law of Christ is not a law of retaliation, but a law of love - love and pray for your enemies.

I call upon our law enforcement agencies to ferret out the perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring to justice. For the victims and for their grieving families, my deep personal condolences and prayers. Let peace begin in our hearts.