Cardinal urges military, leftists to stop killings in Philippines

Published: 2007-03-29

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila has appealed to military and leftist groups to end the killings in the Philippines. Cardinal Rosales said that both Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and those "in the mountains" could be held responsible for killings in the country. The cardinal made the comments March 26, a day after the government was found responsible for unsolved killings, following the ordination of Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian of Bangued at the Shrine of the Divine Word in Quezon City, northeast of Manila. "Sorry for saying this, but even our (rebel) brothers are involved in the killings," Cardinal Rosales told UCA News, an Asian church news agency, after the ceremony. "It is wrong to kill a person whether it is extrajudicial or judicial." The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, released its March 25 verdict after hearings March 21-23. In its 13-page verdict, the tribunal "found unequivocal evidences that the militaries have a central role in the great majority" of human rights violations, reported UCA News.

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