Irish Priest Kidnapped

From the Irish Times:

An extensive military and army search is underway in the Philippines following the kidnapping of an Irish priest by a gang of armed men in the south of the country yesterday.

Michael Sinnott (79), a Columban Father originally from Barntown in Co Wexford, was taken away on a speedboat after six gunmen entered the Columban House in Pagadian city in the province of Zamboanga del Sur yesterday evening, and dragged him away, according to reports quoting local police.

Fr Sinnott was taking a stroll in the garden of the compound when a man knocked on the door asking for a priest. When a member of staff opened it, gunmen barged in and grabbed him.

The missionaries could not do anything “because the abductors had powerful weapons”, regional police commander Angelo Sunglao said.

The kidnappers took Fr Sinnott away by sea, Mr Sunglao said, citing fishermen in the area. The van used to take him from the house to shore was later found abandoned and burned near the Catholic mission.

Regional military commander Major General Benjamin Dolorfino said Fr Sinnott was kidnapped for ransom. Intelligence reports indicated he was taken by boat to a town in nearby Lanao del Norte province, where a large Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is active.

Maj Gen Dolorfino said it was not clear if the Moro group or smaller but more violent al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremists were involved.

(snip)

Fr O’Donoghue said people from all walks of life had contacted the order to express sadness at what had happened to Fr Sinnott. “Right across the divide people are outraged that this could happen to a 79 year-old-man who has given his life to poor and to justice in this country,” he said.

The kidnapping comes nine months after Abu Sayyaf abducted three Red Cross workers on the island of Jolo. They were released one by one in a hostage crisis that lasted for six months. The group was also blamed for kidnapping Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi, who was held for more than a month in 2007.