Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Freed Italian priest gets emotional welcome from parishioners (4:25pm)
MANILA-- An Italian priest held for over a month by Muslim rebels got an emotional welcome Wednesday from his parishioners in the southern Philippines, where a feast was laid out and townsfolk hugged him in tears.
Giancarlo Bossi, 57, visited Zamboanga Sibugay province's Payao town for the first time since Muslim rebels snatched him there on June 10. He was freed last Thursday.
Bossi traveled to Payao to thank his parishioners for their prayers and thoughts while he was held in the jungle by reputed rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a rebel group engaged in peace talks with the government.
Police have denied a ransom was paid for the priest, who has worked in the Philippines since 1980 and had just been reassigned to Zamboanga Sibugay.
ABS-CBN television showed Bossi wearing a lei around his neck and being hugged by weeping women as he held back tears. Crowds flocked around him even before he could emerge from a car.
Bossi celebrated Mass in his parish church, which was packed for his homecoming.
He earlier told The Associated Press he wanted to go to Payao to thank his parishioners before flying to Italy, where he will stay for a few months to rest, be with his family and thank people who pressed for his release.
He added that he intended to return to the Philippines to resume his missionary work despite his harrowing ordeal.
"That's the call I am supposed to do, and I am really happy to do this job," he said.
Bossi said he wanted to remain in Payao, but that will depend on whether his superiors let him stay or post him elsewhere in the country. (AP) |
