Pope laments ‘senseless killing’ by Islamist militants in Philippines

December 28, 2015

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, has sent a message in Pope Francis’s name after the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a militant Islamist group, killed 10 people on the Philippine island of Mindanao.

“The Holy Father was deeply saddened to learn of the senseless killing of innocent people in Mindanao, and he sends condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” Cardinal Parolin wrote on December 27.

“His Holiness prays that security and safety will be established for all people in the region, so that dialogue, tolerance and peace may enable each person to live free from fear,” he added. “He asks all believers to reject violence in the name of God who is love, and invokes abundant divine gifts of consolation, mercy, and strength upon those affected by this tragedy.”

 

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Further information:

• Messaggio del Cardinale Segretario di Stato, a nome del Santo Padre, in occasione dell’attentato nell’isola di Mindanao (Filippine), 27.12.2015 (Holy See Press Office)
• Bloody Christmas as Muslim guerrillas kill 10 in Mindanao (AFP)