Bishop Severo Caermare of Dipolog in the southern Philippine province of Mindanao (right) and Father Patrick Dalangin announce the end of the diocesan process for the cause of the martyrdom of Italian Jesuit priest Francesco Paliola in June 9. (Photo by Angie de Silva)
Martyrdom is "not a remote possibility" for Catholics in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao where a priest and several Catholics were abducted by gunmen last month, according to a Jesuit priest.
"I hope the hostages will stand for their faith," said Father Tim Ofracio, a priest helping advance the cause of the martyrdom of Francesco Palliola, an Italian Jesuit who was killed in Mindanao in 1648.
Father Palliola and Father Teresito Soganub, who was kidnapped by terrorist gunmen with several Catholics in Marawi City on May 23, "are witnesses to their faith," he said.
Sporadic clashes continued June 9 as Philippine security forces hunted terrorist gunmen who earlier tried to occupy the southern Philippine city.
"The value of witnessing cuts across generations," said Father Ofracio. "These are values that raise the dignity of the human person," said the Jesuit priest.
He said there is a big demand for a "new kind of martyrdom" these days, "like dying to yourself and living for others."
The fate of Father Soganub, meanwhile, remained uncertain after a Philippine military official said that the priest was probably still alive almost three weeks after his abduction.
Brig. Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista, head of the Philippine army's 1st Division in Mindanao, told local news site Mindanews that peace emissaries were certain the priest is still alive.
The last time Father Soganub was seen was on a video posted on social media on May 30 when he appealed to the government to stop the offensive against his abductors.
Advance in cause of martyrdom
On June 9, Bishop Severo Caermare of Dipolog announced that the diocesan process for the cause of martyrdom of Father Palliola is about to close and move to Rome for review.
If the Vatican approves the Italian Jesuit's cause, he would be on track to be the first saint from Mindanao and the first martyr to have worked and died in the Philippines.
Born into nobility, in Naples, Italy, on May 10, 1612, Father Palliola joined a Jesuit expedition to the Philippines.
Bishop Caermare said the Italian priest might have been Neapolitan, "but his love for God, his great passion for mission and caring for the people made him truly Mindanaoan."
The Vatican earlier posed no objection to the beatification process of Father Palliola, who established Christian settlements in the western part of Mindanao among the Subanen tribe.
A Subanen tribal leader killed the Italian Jesuit priest in the coastal village of Ponot in Zamboanga del Norte province on Jan. 29, 1648.
Although he died 368 years ago, the Jesuit priest is still remembered in the oral history of the tribe as a "loving and protective father."