Freed Irish priest Michael Sinnott has returned to his missionary work in southern Philippines, three months after his abduction. The 80-year old Sinnott, who belongs to the Missionary Society of St. Columban, returned to Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province Monday. He immediately visited children staying at a charity house he founded in Pagadian City and vowed to continue his missionary works. Sinnot arrived in Manila last Jan. 15 after a two-month vacation in Ireland following his release in Nov. 12 in Zamboanga City. “It's very nice to be back and am looking forward to going back to my work in Pagadian,” he said shortly after his return. Sinnott was taken by six gunmen on Oct. 11 from his missionary house in Pagadian City. He was released on the same day US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Manila, but the government said it was just a coincidence. The government blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for the kidnapping, but the secessionist group denied this. Sinnott was the third Irish missioner to be kidnapped in Mindanao since 1997, when Fr. Des Hartford was held by Moro rebels for 12 days. In 2001, Father Rufus Hally, a missioner from Waterford, was shot dead during an attempted abduction.
