Prayers said for abducted priest

Fr Michael Sinnott
May need medical attention

Prayers have been said at masses at home and abroad for the release of Fr Michael Sinnott.

The 79-year-old Columban Missionary was kidnapped in the Philippines this day last week.

Both the authorities and the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines fear that Fr Sinnott may be in urgent need of medical attention.


He underwent a quadruple heart bypass operation four years ago

Thousands of flyers are being handed out in coastal communities on the southern island of Mindanao seeking help to get medicines delivered to Fr Sinnott.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, according to Patrick O'Donoghue, who is the head of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban.

During a service at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI praised Fr Sinnott for his missionary work.

The Philippine military said a pirate had transferred Fr Sinnott by boat to the Lanao coast east of Pagadian city, and may have turned him over to a leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Muslim separatist group.

The MILF leadership has denied any of its commanders were involved and says it is helping to secure the priest's release.



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Hope he`s ok. Whats the point of abducting him?

I hope the idiots release him soon.