Cries for justice ring out on death anniversary of slain Cabanatuan priest

Priests offer prayer at the grave of slain Fr. Richmond Nilo of Cabanatuan City (Photo by Armand Galang)

CABANATUAN CITY –– The Catholic community here on Monday marked the first death anniversary of Fr. Richmond Nilo, who was gunned down while preparing to celebrate Mass in Zaragoza town, with a renewed call for justice.

Bishop Sofronio Bancud of the Diocese of Cabanatuan led a concelebrated mass at the Crypta of San Nicolas de Tolentino here.

Bancud recalled that about 15,000 people attended Nilo’s wake to condole with the slain priest’s family and condemn the attack.

The clergy and the laity also visited Nilo’s grave at the churchyard after the mass.

“Isang na taon ang lumipas mula nang si Fr. Richmond ay kinuha sa atin bilang pari ng ating sambayanan, patuloy pa rin ang aming panawagan at panalangin para sa katarungan, kapayapaan at kaayusan sa ating lipunan,” Bancud said in a statement read in masses on Sunday.

The diocese, he said, prays for a fair and just resolution of the case.

Three persons were subsequently arrested in connection with the killing. Armand Galang