Ransom for Franciscan

AN £80,000 ransom has been demanded for the release of a Franciscan missionary kidnapped in the Philippines by Muslim gunmen, it was revealed this week.
Br Augustine Fraszczak, a 45year-old American, was abducted on Basilan Island in the southern Philippines on October 23. The kidnappers' demands were delivered to Br Fraszczak's superiors in messages believed to be in the Franciscan's own hand.
Bishop Romulo de la Cruz of the local Isabela prelature, who supervises the Church's work on Basilan Island, said that paying the ransom would encourage attacks on Churchmen. "We will not meet demands for money like this," he said.
In the capital, Manila, President Fidel Ramos ordered police to secure Br Fraszczak's release.
The Franciscan was stopped on his motorcycle by six armed men belonging to the Muslim Moro National Liberation Front. His companion, Friar Gabriel Bertos, was allowed to go free by the abductors.