Missionaries to stay in Mindanao despite Sinnott incident
11/14/2009 | 03:59 AM
The Columban missionaries, the religious order to which abducted Irish priest Michael Sinnott belongs, vowed on Friday to continue their stay in southern Philippines despite what happened to their colleague.
Patrick O’Donoghue, regional director of the Columban missionaries, said his order will continue its ministry in Mindanao amidst fear that they might suffer the same fate of Sinnott, who was released last Thursday after a month-long captivity. [See: Irish priest Fr. Sinnott freed after one month in captivity]
"The abduction of Fr. Sinnott is a very worrying thing but it would not be our intent or desire at all to let this affect our commitment to the dioceses in which we are in," O'Donoghue said in an article posted Friday night on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site.
Armed men abducted Sinnott in Pagadian City last October 11. Last October 31, a local television station aired a video of Sinnott holding an Oct. 22 newspaper and saying his abductors wanted $2 million for his release.
Hours after his release, the Irish missionary also expressed his intention to stay along with 13 other Columban missionaries in Mindanao.
O’Donoghue said that Sinnott’s ordeal would not serve as a deterrent for them to continue their mission in the predominantly Muslim southern part of the Philippines.
"Columbans who have worked in Mindanao have tremendous love for the people they've worked with and I believe they have been loved in return," he said. - Andreo C. Calonzo, GMANews.TV
Patrick O’Donoghue, regional director of the Columban missionaries, said his order will continue its ministry in Mindanao amidst fear that they might suffer the same fate of Sinnott, who was released last Thursday after a month-long captivity. [See: Irish priest Fr. Sinnott freed after one month in captivity]
"The abduction of Fr. Sinnott is a very worrying thing but it would not be our intent or desire at all to let this affect our commitment to the dioceses in which we are in," O'Donoghue said in an article posted Friday night on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site.
Armed men abducted Sinnott in Pagadian City last October 11. Last October 31, a local television station aired a video of Sinnott holding an Oct. 22 newspaper and saying his abductors wanted $2 million for his release.
Hours after his release, the Irish missionary also expressed his intention to stay along with 13 other Columban missionaries in Mindanao.
O’Donoghue said that Sinnott’s ordeal would not serve as a deterrent for them to continue their mission in the predominantly Muslim southern part of the Philippines.
"Columbans who have worked in Mindanao have tremendous love for the people they've worked with and I believe they have been loved in return," he said. - Andreo C. Calonzo, GMANews.TV
