Catholic bishop urges faithful to continue praying for Mary Jane Veloso’s freedom, clemency
MANILA, Philippines — Bishop Ruperto Santos, vice chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, backed renewed calls for Mary Jane Veloso’s freedom and clemency.
Santos, on Tuesday, urged the faithful to pray for Veloso’s freedom in the name of mercy.
“Veloso has suffered long enough with her imprisonment. Let us pray hard that, in the name of mercy, the Indonesian government would grant her clemency. May our almighty God touch the hearts of those people and decide what is beneficial and do what is best for MJ,” said Santos.
Veloso, a 37-year-old Filipino on death row in Indonesia, has been imprisoned for 13 years. She was caught smuggling over two kilograms of heroin in Yogyakarta in 2010, but she asserted that she was a victim of human trafficking and got deceived into carrying a suitcase with illegal drugs.
Veloso’s family on Monday revealed that her previously-removed ovarian cyst has recurred. This prompted Santos, along with other supporters, to demand the Indonesian government to grant the death row convict’s freedom.
“With her health problem, she should be much attended to, medical care and charitable measures given. We pray for her recovery. We offer our prayers for her healing,” Santos furthered.