An Irish Columban missionary priest, who has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace prize, has vowed to carry on his mission in the Philippines despite receiving death threats. Dublin born Fr Shay Cullen runs a charity known as The Preda Foundation in the Philippines that helps children caught up in the sleazy sex industry.
Fr Cullen set up the foundation in 1974, believing that poverty, violence and child abuse are barriers to peace and give rise to tyrants and torturers.
There are currently twelve Preda projects working in the Philippines that the foundation says are to “free children from brothels and jails and give them a chance to recover in therapeutic homes and be reintegrated and have a happier life free from violence and abuse.”
However, it has emerged that deaths threats made against a murdered Italian priest two months ago have also been made against Fr Cullen.
Fr Cullen worked closely with Italian born priest Fr Fausto Tentorio who was assassinated in the Philippines two months ago.
The 59-year-old Italian had dedicated his life to upholding the rights of a tribe whose way of life is under threat from corrupt mining giants hunting for gold.
However, despite Fr Tenorio's murder Fr Cullen is adamant that his work will continue.
Speaking this week, he said, “I was told that if I carried on campaigning against the mining and went back to a certain area something might happen to me. However, it's not going to stop me.”
As well as been nominated for the Nobel Peace prize on three occasions, Fr Cullen has received numerous human rights awards.
He is also the author of the book Passion and Power and writes a weekly column on human rights in the Manila Times in the Philippines that is syndicated all over the world.