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Rescued Irish priest Sinnott flies home


Irish missionary Michael Sinnott - a victim of abduction in southern Philippines - left for his home country Thursday for a holiday vacation, but not before leaving three Christmas wishes for Filipinos. "I hope the Filipino people and the Catholic Church in the Philippines will be able to obtain peace in Mindanao without any bloodshed. We hope the elections will be successful and we’ll have an honest president," Sinnott said. An article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site said Sinnott left at 1:05 a.m. aboard an Etihad flight (EY-421) for Ireland via Abu Dhabi. Cool weather Sinnott will stay in Ireland for a five-week vacation, the article said. "I feel fine going back home and looking forward to the weather, it’s windy, wet and cold," Sinnott said about his upcoming vacation. Fr. Patrick O’Donoghue, regional director of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, accompanied Sinnott for the trip. Sinnott, 79, was abducted in Pagadian City last October 11 and freed November 12, hours before the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The government tagged several "rogue" members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) behind the abduction. The rebel group denied kidnapping the missionary. I shall return Despite his abduction, Sinnott said he would return to Pagadian City on January 15 next year. He had been scheduled to return to Pagadian late last month, but his doctor advised to remain in Manila to recover from the one-month ordeal. “I wish my friends in Pagadian will have peace and no more kidnapping," Sinnott said when asked about his Christmas wish for his closest friends in Mindanao. He said he expects his relatives back home to ask him about his experience in the hands of his kidnappers and to share about his mission in Mindanao. Sinnott will celebrate his 80th birthday in Ireland during the second week of December. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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