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An Indonesian Roman Catholic priest was shot dead in
his church in the latest of a string of murders that have alarmed
the United Nations, the European Union and human rights activists.
Franciskus Madhu, 30, a native of
Flores Island in Indonesia, was attacked by three unidentified
gunmen as he prepared to say Passion (Palm) Sunday Mass in Lubuagan
in northern Kalinga province.
Lubuagan town is a two-hour drive
from the capital town of Tabuk, which is a 12-hour drive from Baguio
City.
Police said they were checking
the motive for the attack, saying the priest did not have known
enemies. Some officers immediately brushed aside politics as the
reason for the killing.
Other Christian congregations
immediately expressed deep sympathy for the Roman Catholic Church
which has been critical of the government over alleged human-rights
abuses.
Reverend Father Jerome Adriatico,
provincial superior of the Society of the Divine Word, said Madhu
had been engaged in missionary work in the area since 2005.
He said police told him initial
reports indicated Madhu was gunned down at random for “no apparent
reason.”
“He has not even gone home for
vacation, as we missionaries are given the privilege to go on
vacation after three years of missionary work in a specific area,”
Adriatico said.
Mayor Johnny Dickpus of Lubuagan
said in a telephone interview that Madhu is an assistant priest at
Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church. He did the rounds of remote
villages to celebrate Mass in smaller chapels.
Senior Supt. Severino Cruz,
director of the Kalinga Provincial Police Office, told The Manila
Times that one of the four suspects has been identified as one
Nestor Walian. He said the other suspects have pending criminal
cases.
A task force of Philippine Army
operatives was formed to conduct a manhunt for the suspects, which
Cruz will supervise.
A Lutheran priest interviewed on
Monday morning said that church leaders in Kalinga convened to
discuss the killing of Madhu. “While the meeting is not over, we
are one in condemning the killing,” the priest said.
Before the shooting incident, the
priest was reportedly having a heated argument with a group of men,
said Chief Supt. Raul Gonzales, director of the Cordillera Police
Office.
Observers, however, discounted
this statement as something that could be a spin to keep this murder
from being listed as an “extrajudicial killing.”
Responding policemen recovered
from the crime scene six empty shells of M-16 rifles as pursuit
operation was launched against the suspects who fled following the
incident.
--AFP, Harry Palangchao and Anthony Vargas
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