For Fr. Fausto Tentorio, a coffin from his favorite tree

When Italian priest Fr. Fausto Tentorio was murdered in North Cotabato on Monday, shock waves reverberated across the world. The condemnation of his death by various religious groups all over the country, as well as distressed reactions from his family and friends, stand testament to the kind of man that the fallen missionary was in his lifetime. In a report on AsiaNews, Fr. Fausto’s brother Felix said, “We are shocked and dismayed… he told us that the situation in Kidapawan was not tense at all, that there was nothing to fear. And now this news..." Gigie Liboon, a member of the parish staff who had benefited from Fr. Fausto’s scholarship program, shared with the local website MindaNews: “It is really hard for us to accept his death since we have no idea why this has happened to him." A peaceful man A member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), the 59-year old priest came to the country in 1978. Soon enough, he became known as the Ilonggo-speaking Italian priest who liked to plant trees and befriended and protected the locals. After escaping a serious death threat in 2003, one could even call him a survivor. This time around, he was not able to escape murder, but his memory continues to stay alive among the people who knew him well. Fondly known as “Father Pops," Fr. Fausto is described as a peaceful, simple man. His nephew Simon said on AsiaNews, “He was a person who wanted to live exactly like the local people and he was loved because of this." The 27-year old bank clerk had visited his uncle in the Philippines last January. "He was very peaceful and serene, even if he was prudent. When we passed areas that he did not know, he locked the car and closed the windows. But there seemed to be no problems. I even walked to visit the place and the house where he had escaped execution in 2003," Simon was quoted as saying on AsiaNews. In a statement condemning the murder, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo shared fond memories of Fr. Fausto when the prelate served in Kidawapan from 1980 to 1986. “He learned Ilonggo quickly and spoke it almost all the time… He had a soft easy smile and a voice that invited conversation. The only enemies he could make are those who wanted to silence his voice appealing for justice and peace for the indigenous peoples and for God’s creation," Quevedo said. "It was always a great joy for me to see him at the Bishop’s Residence in Kidapawan taking his day off and watching a VHS movie or two after a long week of trekking up the mountains of Arakan or visiting the villages of Columbio," he recalled. Indeed, Fr. Fausto is known to have dedicated his life to the people around him. He defended the local tribes and campaigned against corporations that sought to displace them. Even the police chief who investigated his death had only good words to say about the slain priest: “Napakabait na pari yan. He really cooperated during our meetings or any activities," he told the local news website MindaNews. Martyr among martyrs Fr. Fausto joins a growing number of priests and missionaries, including two others from PIME, who have been murdered in Mindanao while upholding the rights of local communities. AsiaNews quoted Fr. John Vettoretto, who lived with Fr Fausto, as saying that his confrere may have been killed due to his work as head of the program for indigenous communities at the Diocese of Kidapawan. The local church had been actively defending local tribal communities that were affected by mining operations in the area. "This senseless killing should be a wake-up call for the Aquino Administration to reconsider its recent decision of backing the formation and deployment of militias to beef up security for mining corporations," said Mario E. Maderazo, Project Officer of the Philippine Misereor Partnership Anti –Mining Campaign. "This move will only perpetuate the condition which made the killing of Fr. Fausto possible." The Catholic website Vatican Insider observes, "The death of Fr. Tentorio is a new chapter in that face of martyrdom which for many years now characterizes the presence of the PIME in Mindanao." Two other PIME missionaries have been killed in Mindanao: Father Tullio Favali in 1985, and Father Father Salvatore Carzedda in 1992. Two more PIME priests were kidnapped and later released - Father Luciano Benedetti in 1998 and Father Giancarlo Bossi in 2007. The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, which counts Father Fausto among its members, described the slain priest as a tireless advocate of indigenous peoples' rights. "He took up the defense of the poor and the oppressed against every form of social injustice. What happened to him is a clear manifestation of silencing his prophetic voice in defending the rights of the rural poor in the countryside," the group said in a statement. A final wish Long before the brutal killing, Fr. Fausto had already prepared for the worst, telling his friends that he wanted to be buried in a coffin made out of his favorite mahogany tree, one he had planted in their convent in the 1980s. As an ultimate act of honor, the parishioners have now cut down the tree, and are waiting for it to dry up before building a casket out of it, as he specified in his last will and testament. Father Fausto's funeral is scheduled on Oct. 25. In the meantime, Fr. Fausto’s body lies in a blue casket, but it makes no difference to the crowd of mourners who, at this moment, continue to grieve out of incredible sadness at the loss of their defender, friend, teacher, and father. - YA, GMA News