Catholic Bishop Shot to Death in Philippines by Man, Young Boy

A man along with a boy, possibly as young as 10, shot and killed a Roman Catholic bishop Tuesday in a flare-up of violence against churchmen in a southern region racked by Muslim secessionist violence.

A church spokesman said Bishop Benjamin de Jesus died instantly when he was shot six times with .45-caliber pistols at point-blank range near his cathedral on Jolo island.

Jolo, about 560 miles south of Manila, is one of the most volatile areas in the Mindanao region.

The military attributes most of the violence to Muslim extremist groups fighting for an Islamic state in the largely Catholic nation.

A female bystander was killed and five civilians were wounded when police traded fire with the suspects, who escaped through a crowd in a central town, army officials said.

Police said they had not established the identity of the suspects or the motive for the attack.

Pope John Paul II condemned the killing, calling it a “deplorable act of violence.”

The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, sent a telegram on the pope’s behalf offering his condolences to the Catholic community in the Philippines.

De Jesus, 56, was the highest-ranking church leader killed in the region where several foreign Catholic missionaries have been kidnapped and Catholic churches have been bombed in recent years.

In Manila, President Fidel V. Ramos condemned the murder and ordered Defense Secretary Renato de Villa to form a special panel to investigate the incident, the presidential palace said.