Bicol seminary rector found dead

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the rector of a Catholic seminary in Camarines Sur in the Bicol Region was found dead in his room Wednesday. The CBCP said the police are still determining the cause of the death of Father Baltazar Acompanado Jr., 35, who was found dead with a 38-caliber revolver near his body. “There is an on-going process of verification as regards the particular circumstance of his demise," Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Legazpi said in an article posted on the CBCP news site. Legazpi described Acompanado, rector and vocation director of the Holy Rosary Preparatory Seminary, as “a good and dedicated priest." Acompanado was also Archdiocesan Vocation Director of the Caceres archdiocese. Meanwhile, a report of dzXL radio Friday quoted investigator-on-case PO2 Wig Pramis as saying the priest may have shot himself. However, police are still investigating the case further as the priest may also have been a victim of foul play. His remains lie in state at the Good Shepherd Chapel of the Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City where a concelebrated funeral Mass will be offered on Saturday, July 31, at 2 p.m. Interment will follow at the Resurrection Garden, the burial ground for priests of the Archdiocese of Caceres. — VVP/RSJ, GMANews.TV