still fighting the good fight Father Brian Gore (‘60) has celebrated 50 years of outstanding service to humanity in the Philippines, including 14 months spent in a Filipino jail on trumped up charges of multiple murder and illegal possession of ammunition. The Columban priest shared his incredible story on a recent visit to his old school, blaming his passion for adventure on the St Columban Mission magazines distributed by Brother Hodgson when he was a young student. Freshly ordained and ready to take on the world, in 1970 Fr Gore arrived at the island of Negros in the Philippines. The country was struggling under President Ferdinand Marcos’ regime, and the rookie priest was plunged into a very different world to what he had left behind. “We learned nothing in the seminary about how to work in a revolution where there was fighting
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going on, murders, people disappearing – it was a very steep learning curve,” Fr Gore said. In 1972 Marcos was unable to run for president for the third time, and declared martial law. All institutions, including the church, were ruled by decree, and the grassroots humanitarian organisation that Fr Gore and his fellow community workers were providing was viewed as a threat by the dictatorship. Looking for a way to be rid of the foreigners, which included Fr Niall O’Brien from Ireland, in 1983 the regime arrested Fr Gore for the murder of the local mayor and also for inciting a rebellion with apparent possession of subversive documents, a hand grenade and five bullets. Above: Fr Gore (left) in the College staffroom with his brother, Darryl (‘59).
