Philippines: priest kidnapped
A missionary priest from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions was kidnapped yesterday in the Philippines. Italian Father Giancarlo Bossi, 57, was kidnapped by a group of more than ten men, shortly after celebrating Mass in the parish church of Payaoin in coastal village of Bulawan. Colonel Godofredo Paderanga, from the military police, said the leader of the kidnappers was identified as a Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrilla leader. The separatist guerrilla group has been operating in the region for many years. Both Christian and Muslim religious have repeatedly called for them to call a truce. Father Bossi is the third Italian priest to be kidnapped in the area in the last ten years. Source: AsiaNews