Rome (AsiaNews) – A silent torchlight procession in Fr Giancarlo Bossi’s hometown of Abbiategrasso (Lombardy) and lit candles placed every night on windowsills to symbolically shed light to guide him towards freedom are two proposals discussed in a meeting at Lombardy’s Regional Government House in Milan.
Marcello Bossi, the brother of the abducted PIME missionary; Fr Davide Sciocco, director of the PIME Missionary Centre in Milan; Lombardy Region President Roberto Formigoni; Filipino Consul Pedro Chan; and Abbiategrasso Mayor Roberto Rota attended the meeting.
Father Sciocco told AsiaNews that during the meeting Marcello Bossi “thanked all those trying to free his brother, and said that he was confident about Fr Giancarlo’s fate. President Formigoni spoke afterwards expressing his solidarity towards the Bossi family and PIME, appealing to the press not to forget the case.”
The director of the Missionary Centre reminded those present of the “missionaries’ commitment in the Philippines,” saying that “they have always pioneered inter-faith dialogue and peace-making. Choosing to stay in dangerous areas does not come from some kind of strange impulse but is an act of fidelity and hope for local communities who often live in difficult situations.”
A picture of the abducted priest hangs from the windows of Rome’s City Hall. Another one is on display in Piazza del Campidoglio. Rome’s mayor, Walter Veltroni, said that this gesture “expresses Rome’s solidarity and hope that Father Bossi, a missionary who has chosen to dedicate his life to others, may soon be freed.”
Back in Mindanao (southern Philippines), both the army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are continuing their searches for Father Bossi’s whereabouts to ensure his safe return.