Kidnapped Italian priest risked danger to be with Philippine flock

MANILA (AFP) - Italian priest Father Giancarlo Bossi knew the dangers when he moved to his parish in the southern Philippines almost a decade ago.

In an area troubled by Muslim extremists, the tall mild-mannered 57-year-old Roman Catholic priest shared the hardships of both his Filipino parishioners and their Muslim neighbours.

His abduction in his parish of Payao on June 10 has left them shocked and saddened.

The kidnappers have since released photographs of the missing missionary, but the Roman Catholic news agency Asianews has said it doubts that Al Qaeda-linked militants of the Abu Sayyaf group were behind his abduction.

"The theory that Abu Sayyaf is behind the abduction of Father Giancarlo Bossi does not hold water," the Vatican mouthpiece said Tuesday. "Rather, from what we know, he is being held hostage by a gang of criminals."

A wide-ranging search for the priest triggered a major gun battle Tuesday on the island of Basilan, 85 kilometres (53 miles) south of Payao.

Eight Philippine Marines were killed, and four of the eight were beheaded, the military said.

The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which acknowledged it was involved in a clash with the soldiers, had previously pledged to help find the priest.

The military says it believes MILF renegades were behind the kidnapping.

A member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), Bossi moved to the Zamboanga peninsula on the Muslim western half of Mindanao Island 10 years ago.

Compatriot Father Peter Geremiah, who works with PIME, describes Bossi as a kind man who was "willing to eat, sleep and live the way poor people live in his parish".

"Despite being warned that he could be a victim of harassment, Father Bossi would tell his colleagues that he is not afraid because God is with him and that he serves all people regardless of faith," Geremiah recalled recently.

Bossi has worked in the Philippines since 1980. Appointed parish priest in April, he was a newcomer to the quiet fishing and farming town which was considered a safe place for a foreigner.

Although a predominantly Christian town, Payao has a solid mix of Muslim and tribal residents who have lived side by side in peace for decades.

The Philippines was the first assignment for Bossi who grew up in a modest farming community just outside Milan on the plains of Lombardy.

Father Luciano Benedetti, an Italian PIME priest who was kidnapped and held by Muslim gunmen in the southern Philippines from September to November 1998, said Bossi's abduction was like a "flashback" for him.

He said Bossi used to play amateur basketball in Italy and is a keen carpenter and farmer.

A PIME statement says Bossi planned to buy a plot of land with some local farmers where he wanted to build a small house and start an organic farm.

"He was a quiet fellow; he did not talk too much. Most of the time, he was silent, listening to people," Benedetti said.

Fernando Mudai, a Zamboanga tribal leader, said he could not understand why anyone would abduct Bossi, a man who had worked hard to promote peace and dialogue between the various groups in the area.

"He is a man of peace, he is working for peace and his parishioners are working with him," said Mudai.

He described Bossi as "a very approachable person with no reservations in dealing with people from all walks of life, including indigenous peoples."

One of Bossi's parishioners, Faustina Falavia, said: "He told us that when there is peace everybody will benefit from it."

Even the local Muslim sultan of the nearby city of Marawi, Asgar Sani, has called on the abductors "to free the priest in the name of Islam".

Bossi is the third Italian missionary kidnapped in the southern Philippines since his arrival there.

The MILF, which has signed a ceasefire agreement with the government, has previously said a breakaway MILF leader abducted Bossi and demanding a hefty ransom for his release.

Both the Philippines and Italy have ruled out paying a ransom but there have been concerns over Bossi's health as he has high blood pressure.

Father Adriano Agustino, who was Bossi's predecessor at Payao, suspects the Italian was seized by defeated candidates in the May 14 midterm elections "who wanted to recover their election expenses".

"The kidnappers must have thought Father Bossi has foreign connections that could raise the ransom money for his liberty," he said.

Benedetti said he was kidnapped by extremists partly for money and partly for prestige.

As to why such things keep happening, Benedetti said: "We Italians usually are ready to face any kind of situation, any kind of danger but sometimes we are also naive and simple people.

"Somehow we underestimate what is really going on around us."