MILF condemns killing of Italian priest in North Cotabato

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) condemned the killing of Italian priest Fausto Tentorio in North Cotabato on Monday morning. MILF secretariat chairman Muhammad Ameen described the killing as a sign of degeneration of morality and spirituality in the country. “We condemn this killing in the highest possible term(s). This is brutality and savagery that no civilized men or groups could possibly do," Ameen said in an article posted on the MILF website on Monday. He said men of religion should be untouchable and should not be harmed, except when they are actively taking part in war. Killing of Tentorio A member of the Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere (PIME or Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), Tentorio was shot and killed by a lone gunman inside the compound of the Mother of Perpetual Help parish church in Arakan at around 7:30 a.m. on Monday. The MILF said the slain parish priest had been serving in Mindanao since 1978 and headed of the Tribal Filipinos Apostolate of the Diocese of Kidapawan in North Cotabato at the time of his death. The MILF also noted that Tentorio was the third Italian PIME (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions) priest gunned down in Mindanao but the second in the Diocese of Kidapawan. - VVP, GMA News