Bishop Shot Dead by Man and Boy

A man, along with a boy, possibly as young as 10, shot and killed a Roman Catholic bishop in a flare-up of violence against church officials in a southern region racked by Muslim secessionist violence. A church spokesman said Bishop Benjamin de Jesus died instantly when he was shot six times with .45-caliber pistols at point-blank range near his cathedral on Jolo island. Jolo, about 560 miles south of Manila, is one of the most volatile areas in the Mindanao region. The military attributes most of the violence to Muslim extremist groups fighting for an Islamic state in Asia’s only largely-Catholic nation.