Lorenzago (AsiaNews) – Benedict XVI thinks about Father Bossi and prays for him “every day.” This is what the Pope himself said when he arrived today in the Dolomite Alpine resort of Lorenzago di Cadore (Belluno Province). He has come here in the mountains for a few days’ rest.
“My thoughts are with Father Bossi every day. I have spoken with the Substitute a few days ago and he gave me the latest information. Let us hope and pray that the Lord may help us,” the Pope said answering a question from a reporter about the missionary from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) who was abducted a month ago in the Philippines.
It is the first time that Benedict XVI explicitly refers to Father Bossi. But in the last few days he has spoken out for “all those who have been kidnapped.”
In addition to getting news from the Substitute in the Secretariat of State as he said today, the Pope also asked Mgr Romulo G. Valles, archbishop of Zamboanga, for information about the missing missionary. He also greeted the prelate in the ceremony in which he bestowed the pallium on him last June 29.
A few days earlier, at the end of the audience in St Peter’s Square on June 13, Fr Giuseppe Buono from PIME was able to speak with the Pope and ask him for a special blessing for Father Giancarlo. Benedict XVI reassured him that he not only has “a blessing but my constant thoughts in prayer.”
PHOTO: Credit CPP