Paulhai
10/23/09, 07:53 AM
PHILIPPINES Messenger sent to deliver medicine to kidnapped priest
October 22, 2009
PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines (UCAN) -- A messenger has been sent by Pagadian diocese to try and get vital medication to kidnapped Columban priest Father Michael Sinnott.
http://www.ucanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/July_Dec/HK644_11.jpg Father Michael Sinnott
Vicar General Father Gilbert Hingone, who is also Church spokesman for the search and rescue effort, said police had identified an area where Father Sinnott may be being held.
The exact whereabouts of the priest, who suffers from a heart condition, remain unknown. The messenger will also try to get news of Father Sinnott's condition.
"We are trying to ascertain that Father Sinnott is there and that he is really alive," he said.
Father Hingone told UCA News that he and members of the crisis committee led by Governor Aurora Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur province met Oct. 21 at the governor's office with a man from the area where the priest may be held.
The man would try to act as intermediary to get the medicine through to the priest.
"I prepared a jacket and medicines and we had this man hand it for us to the emissary who would deliver them to the kidnappers," the vicar general told UCA News after the meeting. "We want a picture of Father Sinnott wearing the jacket that I sent" to prove he is alive.
Father Hingone said the middle man was not part of the group holding Father Sinnott, who was snatched from the Columban Fathers' house in Pagadian City on Oct. 11. The priest declined to give details of how the contact had been initiated nor about the location of the search.
http://www.ucanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/July_Dec/HK705_1.jpg Father Gilbert Hingone
Father Sinnott, 80, underwent heart bypass surgery in 2007. His congregation and local Church officials have repeatedly stressed that their priority is to provide for the priest's health needs.
The crisis committee had sought to speak to Father Sinnott by telephone but "the emissary said kidnappers had refused to talk to us and they would not let Father Mick talk to us either."
Father Sinnott has served for most of his 42 years in the Philippines in Pagadian diocese which comprises the city and northern and eastern parts of Zamboanga del Sur.
"What happened to Father Sinnott is very painful for us and very embarrassing," Father Hingone said. This is no way to "reward" such a dedicated missioner, he added.:intears:
ucanews.com
October 22, 2009
PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines (UCAN) -- A messenger has been sent by Pagadian diocese to try and get vital medication to kidnapped Columban priest Father Michael Sinnott.
http://www.ucanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/July_Dec/HK644_11.jpg Father Michael Sinnott
Vicar General Father Gilbert Hingone, who is also Church spokesman for the search and rescue effort, said police had identified an area where Father Sinnott may be being held.
The exact whereabouts of the priest, who suffers from a heart condition, remain unknown. The messenger will also try to get news of Father Sinnott's condition.
"We are trying to ascertain that Father Sinnott is there and that he is really alive," he said.
Father Hingone told UCA News that he and members of the crisis committee led by Governor Aurora Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur province met Oct. 21 at the governor's office with a man from the area where the priest may be held.
The man would try to act as intermediary to get the medicine through to the priest.
"I prepared a jacket and medicines and we had this man hand it for us to the emissary who would deliver them to the kidnappers," the vicar general told UCA News after the meeting. "We want a picture of Father Sinnott wearing the jacket that I sent" to prove he is alive.
Father Hingone said the middle man was not part of the group holding Father Sinnott, who was snatched from the Columban Fathers' house in Pagadian City on Oct. 11. The priest declined to give details of how the contact had been initiated nor about the location of the search.
http://www.ucanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/July_Dec/HK705_1.jpg Father Gilbert Hingone
Father Sinnott, 80, underwent heart bypass surgery in 2007. His congregation and local Church officials have repeatedly stressed that their priority is to provide for the priest's health needs.
The crisis committee had sought to speak to Father Sinnott by telephone but "the emissary said kidnappers had refused to talk to us and they would not let Father Mick talk to us either."
Father Sinnott has served for most of his 42 years in the Philippines in Pagadian diocese which comprises the city and northern and eastern parts of Zamboanga del Sur.
"What happened to Father Sinnott is very painful for us and very embarrassing," Father Hingone said. This is no way to "reward" such a dedicated missioner, he added.:intears:
ucanews.com