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Pope praises priest slain by suspected extremists

Pope Benedict XVI praised the courage of a Roman Catholic priest slain by suspected al-Qaeda-linked extremists on a remote southern island, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said on Saturday.

The pope was "saddened" over the "brutal and tragic" killing of Reynaldo Roda late on Tuesday in Tawi-Tawi Province, quoting from a letter from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarciso Bertone.

"Paying tribute to the courage and faithfulness shown by this generous priest in his ministry as head of Notre Dame School, his holiness commends Father Roda's example to priests and people throughout the region, and especially to the young," Bertone said.

Roda, 55, ran Notre Dame High School -- which has about 30 students -- on the island township of Tabawan for the past 10 years, church officials said.

On Tuesday, about 10 gunmen believed to be from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group seized Roda from the school and shot him dead when police confronted them, said Joel Goltiao, the regional police chief.

As they fled, the gunmen also seized a teacher, Omar Taup, and a fishermen, who apparently knew some of the gunmen, Goltiao said.

In his letter to Jolo Bishop Angelito Lampon, Bertone said the pope "calls upon the perpetrators to renounce the ways of violence and to play their part in building a just and peaceful society, where all can live together in harmony."

The bishops' group earlier said Roda had received death threats from Abu Sayyaf.

Wainwright Taup, Tawi-Tawi provincial police chief, said witnesses recognized one of the gunmen as a dismissed police officer who had joined Abu Sayyaf.

Police said the navy was helping search for the gunmen, who are believed to be hiding in the Tawi-Tawi area.

Roda will be buried on Wednesday in Datu Odin Sinsuat township, where he spent his years in the seminary.
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