Fr. Bossi, who is member of Pontifical Institute for Foreign Mission (PIME), was abducted after officiating Mass in a village in the town of Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay on June 10.
Diocesan administrator Fr. Armando Angeles, DCK, read Valles’s letter during the Holy Eucharist celebration attended by some 500 parishioners held at the Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace Cathedral on Wednesday.
Valles, in his pastoral letter, said that prayer is a powerful tool that could possibly save Fr. Bossi from the hands of his abductors.
“I urge you my dear brothers and sisters in the diocese of Kidapawan to spend time in praying so that negotiations for the immediate release of Fr. Bossi would be successful,” he appealed.
Meantime, Fr. Angeles said a copy the archbishop’s letter will be sent to various parishes in the diocese, including all Catholic schools in North Cotabato.
The diocesan administrator said the same pastoral letter will be shared to churchgoers in all parishes of the diocese on Sunday in line with the celebration of the Solemnity of the birth of John the Baptist.
“Special prayers during this occasion will also be offered for Fr. Giancarlo Bossi,” Angeles said.
Fr. Angeles also appealed to other religious denominations in North Cotabato to pray for the peaceful negotiations and the safety of all negotiators involved in Fr. Bossi’s case.
As this developed, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) central committee ordered its Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) to continue with the search operation of Fr. Bossi despite the expiration of the AHJAG mandate on Thursday (see separate story).
Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief negotiator, told newsmen in Cotabato City that the AHJAG’s mandate has already expired on June 21 as earlier agreed by both the panels of the government and the MILF.
The MILF-AHJAG is now focusing its operation in the forested boundary of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte, believing that Fr. Bossi’s captors are hiding him there. (Williamor A. Magbanua / MindaNews)