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Posted on 06/11/2007 8:28:16 AM PDT by NYer
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Gunmen abducted an Italian Roman Catholic priest who was on his way to a remote village to celebrate Sunday Mass in the southern Philippines, police said.
Giancarlo Bossi, 57, was riding his motorcycle in Zamboanga Sibugay province's Payao township, about 500 miles south of Manila, when about 10 armed men blocked his path then seized him, said Senior Superintendent Francisco Cristobal, the provincial police chief.
Cristobal said he suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels who operate in Zamboanga Sibugay, despite a cease-fire agreement with the government. He did not elaborate, but said that al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, notorious for ransom kidnappings, are not known to be active in the area.
Cristobal said police received reports that the group boarded two boats, possibly to flee to nearby islands. Police and the military were searching for the priest with land and coastal patrols, he added.
Mohagher Iqbal, a peace negotiator for the rebel group, denied Moro militants were behind the abduction.
Hours after the kidnapping, Pope Benedict XVI condemned the abductions of priests and others around the world and said he was praying for all those who were being held hostage.
``I direct my appeal to the authors of these abominable acts, so that they realize the wrong they have done and quickly return their prisoners to their loved ones,'' Benedict said.
Bossi was assigned as parish priest of Payao in April and is a member of the Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere, Cristobal said. Sundalo Jianni, an official from the mission, appealed to Bossi's abductors to free him.
``Father Bossi is a good man and there is no reason to hold him against his will,'' he told the local Mindanao Examiner newspaper.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Most likely the Moros.
Could be yes, could be no.
KnR - Kidnap and ransom is practiced around the more corrupt parts of the world. That the Church is a victim will spawn a lot of sympathy from Filipinos. The crime is the target of law and order. Filipinos will be motivated to stop the crime whether Moro or not. The action was criminal perpetuated by criminals. Whether the criminal(s) is/are Moro is yet to be discovered.
The hunt is on.
Zamboango has been known for these type of acts for at least 15 years, maybe more.
It is just because Westerners won’t leave muslim lands. Like the Phillipines. < /sarcasm >
I know I'm being picky ... but that's like describing Raleigh North Carolina as 500 miles from Richmond, Virginia.
Zamboanga is on the southwestern most tip of Mindinao ... a really ... really ... really fer piece from Manila... and on a different island altogether.
It's largely muslem and a playground for Abu Sayeff and MILF. Kidnappings are commonplace and most of the folks that don't want to be kidnapped stay away.
Prayers for the priest ..... but he knew this was going to be a difficult assignment.
Prayers for Father Bossi.
People I love are in Philippines. Please pray for my niece who joined the Peace Corps [sigh] and is in Philippines, Fr. Pfeiffer, this poor priest and all the others. This scares me.
We live in a time that dying on behalf of our Faith is more and more commonplace. The priest and three sub-deacons were murdered in Iraq are but recent examples of what could be termed "the new martyrdom."
From Rorate Caeli:
Catholic Martyrs of the "New Iraq"
With “a heart full of bitterness and mourning”, the Chaldean Church is today lamenting its martyrs. This is how, in a joint statement the Chaldean Patriarch and his bishops remember Fr Ragheed Ganni and his three sub-deacons - Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, Gassan Isam Bidawed – murdered in cold blood yesterday, as they left the Parish Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul after Sunday Mass. This afternoon at 1500 (local time) their funerals will be held in Karamles, Fr. Ragheed’s home town, celebrated by Msgr. Faraj Rahho, bishop of Mosul.
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/
Especially in Mindanoa, this is not restricted to any large organized group.
While I plan on retiring to the Philippines, my hope is that by the time I move there, the major portion of the strife will be done.
I will, however, have a large portion of my neighbors watching my back.
Scary times murph.
I plan on retiring in Mindinao as well ... and hope and pray all this gets resolved soon
bump
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