{"id":28572,"date":"2018-05-08T09:49:25","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T09:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=28572"},"modified":"2018-05-09T06:48:28","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T06:48:28","slug":"philippines-cardinal-and-bishops-conference-condemn-killing-of-priest-acn-malta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2018\/05\/08\/philippines-cardinal-and-bishops-conference-condemn-killing-of-priest-acn-malta\/","title":{"rendered":"PHILIPPINES: Cardinal and Bishops Conference condemn killing of priest &#8211; ACN Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>PHILIPPINES<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Cardinal and Bishops Conference condemn killing of priest <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of the Philippines has condemned the murder of Fr. Mark Ventura who was shot dead by an unknown gunman on 29 April. Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, the president of the Philippines bishops\u2019 conference, issued a statement shortly after the murder saying the bishops were \u201dtotally shocked and in utter disbelief\u201d after hearing about the attack.\u00a0 \u201cWe condemn this evil act!\u201d said Archbishop Valles. \u201cWe are totally shocked and in utter disbelief to hear about the brutal killing of Fr. Mark Ventura.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Father Mark Ventura was gunned down in front of parishioners after celebrating Mass in Gattaran. The priest was blessing children and talking with the choir members when an unidentified man wearing a motorcycle helmet emerged from the back of the gym where the Mass had been held and shot the priest twice. Fr Ventura sustained gunshot wounds to the head and chest and died at the scene. Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde said the suspect ran towards the highway and rode on a motorcycle driven by another unidentified companion and fled towards Baggao. The Philippine National Police ordered the creation of a special investigation task group to look into the killing of Fr Ventura.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila on Monday condemned the murder of a priest, stating it was a sign that people no longer value life as a gift from God. \u201cAnd even if he\u2019s not a priest\u2026 a person. Isn\u2019t he a gift from God? Is it that easy nowadays to just kill and throw someone away?\u201d the Cardinal said. In a statement, Archbishop Sergio L. Utleg of Tuguegarao called Ventura \u201czealous and dedicated, one who smelled like his sheep.\u201d He called on the authorities \u201cto act swiftly in going after the perpetrators of this crime and to bring them to justice. There have been too many murders already done with impunity in our country by assassins riding in tandem. May this be the last,\u201d Utleg said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Karapatan, a Philippine human rights organisation, said Fr Ventura may have been killed for his anti-mining advocacy and for supporting indigenous communities in the area. \u201cWhen the Church stands up for the poor, its people become targets,\u201d said Cristina Palabay, the Karapatan secretary general. \u201cThere is no doubt that there is a disturbing trend of Church people being persecuted for their stance and involvement in human rights,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cPeasants, too, have been killed throughout regimes for organizing among their communities, and for actively struggling for genuine agrarian reform. We demand an end to these killings, as well as to the system that has made it ripe for such murderers to exist without fear of accountability or regard for people\u2019s rights,\u201d Palabay added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Ventura was the director of San Isidro Labrador Mission Station, a post he assumed early this month, in Mabuno village in Gattaran. Prior to <\/span>that<span style=\"color: #000000;\">, he was rector of the St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in the town of Aparri. A priest for almost seven years, he was also known for his opposition to mining and for helping indigenous peoples in the province.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Carmelite order in the country blamed the murders on a \u201cculture of impunity\u201d in the Philippines. A statement said this culture \u201cdoes not exempt Church people and those who are genuinely serving the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the rejected. In fact, in the last four months, we have seen a crackdown on people whose heart is only to do God\u2019s will in serving those who are in need, people whom even the government has forgotten to serve.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The priest&#8217;s killing &#8220;set a new high to the epidemic of impunity and barbarity that has been set upon the country,&#8221; read a statement from activist group Makabayan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The opposition Liberal Party also condemned the killing and called on authorities to &#8220;capture and prosecute&#8221; the killers and not treat the priest&#8217;s death as &#8220;just another death under investigation.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Ventura is the second priest killed in the past four months. In December 2017, Fr. Marcelito Paez, 72, was shot dead by 2 unidentified gunmen after he facilitated the release of a political prisoner in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, in central Luzon region.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><\/h5>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>ACN Malta<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PHILIPPINES Cardinal and Bishops Conference condemn killing of priest &nbsp; The Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of the Philippines has condemned the murder of Fr. Mark Ventura who was shot dead by an unknown gunman on 29 April. Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, the president of the Philippines bishops\u2019 conference, issued a statement shortly after the murder&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>PHILIPPINES: Cardinal and Bishops Conference condemn killing of priest - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2018\/05\/08\/philippines-cardinal-and-bishops-conference-condemn-killing-of-priest-acn-malta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PHILIPPINES: Cardinal and Bishops Conference condemn killing of priest - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PHILIPPINES Cardinal and Bishops Conference condemn killing of priest &nbsp; The Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of the Philippines has condemned the murder of Fr. 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