As slain Italian priest laid to rest, bishops call for justice

As slain missionary Father Fausto Tentorio was to be laid to rest on Tuesday, Catholic bishops urged the Aquino administration to probe his death and solve the case as soon as possible. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said the government cannot afford to “simply point at the usual scapegoats" in this case. “How long will evil men continue to plot against those who courageously protest against the sufferings of the poor and the degradation of God’s creation?" outgoing CBCP president Nereo Odchimar said in a statement, according to an article on AsiaNews. He stressed the government must act decisively and swiftly, and investigate thoroughly every angle of the murder. “It cannot simply point at the usual scapegoats," Odchimar said. An unidentified man shot Tentorio dead last October 17 in Arakan, North Cotabato. Odchimar said that without justice, Tentorio’s death will be but another of the many extrajudicial murders without a culprit. Worse, he warned it will accentuate the climate of impunity that has existed in Mindanao and around the country for many years. He said Tentorio and all foreign missionaries “are friends of our people," and “have strengthened our faith and assisted the poor and the needy." Last week, Pope Benedict XVI voiced distress over the murder of Tentorio as he called for the “renunciation of violence" and building a just and peaceful society where all live in harmony. “(I thank) God for Father Fausto’s witness as a good and faithful priest who tirelessly and courageously served the Filipino people for many years," AsiaNews quoted the message, signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, as saying. The Pope also called “for the renunciation of violence and the building of a just and peaceful society where all live together in harmony" in the country and offered his blessing as “as a pledge of comfort and strength." - VVP, GMA News