The Bukas Palad Award was originally named after Fr. Manuel Peypoch, a Jesuit who taught at the Ateneo de Manila and distinguished himself in serving the Jesuit Order, the Church and society in the areas of education and culture, in social and human development concerns. The Award was first given, in 1963, to Msgr. José Jovellanos. It was renamed BUKAS PALAD AWARD to “capture the Ignatian spirit of “generosity” and to give recognition to the unconditional, dedicated service of the Religious in Christ’s Kingdom. Motivated by Gospel values, [the awardee’s] “notable and invaluable contribution is an unmistakable evidence beyond the ordinary of an understanding of the prophetic role of the Church in today’s world and giving tangible proofs of this in the service given to his/her fellowmen, especially the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, the sick, the suffering – in faith, justice and love.”
The award to Fr. Sebastiano is in recognition of his founding of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement “which helped plant the seeds of interreligious dialogue in the Philippines, particularly, in Mindanao, and nurturing and spreading them through leadership roles in the interreligious dialogue thrusts of Pontifical Institute for Foreign Mission (PIME) and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).”
In his acceptance speech, Fr. Sebastiano expressed his deep gratitude to the Ateneo for the award and he said: “It is not just an honor but a responsibility to fulfill.” He added he shares the award with every Christian and Muslim in Mindanao who are committed to the mission of dialogue and peace. Further, he said: “Many are not ready for peace… peace must be sincere. In the deeper part of the conscience of each person, there is goodness. In dialogue, we have to reach that level. It is like a soil; you allow putting some elements just for the seed to grow. This is a movement, not an NGO in the usual sense; it is a movement and we want to stress this point. Thanks be to God that there are people entering in this spirit.”
Fr. Sebastiano is a native of Sicily, Italy. He was assigned to the Philippines in 1977. He founded the Silsilah Dialogue Movement in 1984. The Movement marked its 25th anniversary in May, 2009. Over the 26 years of its existence, Silsilah has focused its efforts and resources on the promotion of dialogue, to bring people to a greater awareness of and faithfulness to what is taught in their respective religions. Because Christians and Muslims are the two dominant groups in this part of the country, Silsilah focuses on the promotion of dialogue between these two groups – in the hope that the understanding born of dialogue will bring out the fruit of peace in the region.
