MANILA, Philippines, FEB. 8, 2001 (Zenit.org).- After murdering a missionary, Edilberto Manero has discovered the Gospel and God´s forgiveness while in prison.
The murderer himself reveals this in a letter written from his cell, where he will quite likely spend the rest of his life, for the murder of Father Tullio Favali, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME).
Now, Manero has discovered hope, thanks to the help of the prison chaplain, Father Roberto Olaguer.
Manero did not know that Father Favali was a priest. He killed him in an ambush, because the missionary´s promotion of integral development was considered a dangerous, subversive phenomenon in the Philippines.
However, now that he is in prison, Manero wrote in the letter, which was made public, “I´ve begun to look for the true meaning of life.”
He said that his transformation, which came about through his involvement in the Charismatic Renewal and through prayer, was completed by the work of the Jesuit Father Olaguer.
“Father Robert helped me to grow spiritually,” wrote Manero, a father of three. “He helped me to abandon my former life and to live according to the Gospel. He helped me to remain transfixed by the idea that someone could give up his own life and die for me in order to save me. That is why I have this hope that I shall change.”
