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THE "tormented" priest who detectives think Kate McCann may
have confessed to was missing last night.
Father Jose Pacheco, 46, has not been seen since it was revealed
police plan to put pressure on him to break his Catholic vow of
silence.
Worried members of his flock in the Algarve resort of Praia da
Luz said they have not seen him at his tiny hillside chapel for
four days.
Father Pacheco gave the McCanns spiritual and emotional support
in the days after their daughter vanished.
Detectives plan to question him in a bid to force him to reveal
if staunch Catholic Kate, 39, confessed to him she had killed
Madeleine.
Locals fear their priest may have fled to avoid the dilemma.
Before he disappeared Father Pacheco told a Portuguese
newspaper: "I could never stop supporting a family who are
living a tragedy."
Last night one regular worshipper said: "He has not been seen
for days. It is very worrying. He has appeared troubled.
"He told us he'd talked to police informally but was
expecting to be seen again.
"It seems he finds himself tormented - in a very difficult position. Susan Hubbard, wife of Father Pacheco's Anglican
colleague Fr Haynes Hubbard, said: "We have not seen him for a
few days. We don't know where he has gone."
Father Pacheco met the McCanns the day after Madeleine vanished
on May 3.
GP Kate and her heart surgeon husband Gerry, both, 39, asked to
see a priest that night as pals, fellow holidaymakers and resort
staff launched a desperate hunt for the four-year-old.
But the meeting did not take place until the next day. The
couple were so devastated Father Pacheco took
the unusual step of giving them the keys to the chapel so they
could pray at any hour.
But since the finger of suspicion was pointed at the McCanns
their relationship with the priest changed, according to locals.
They said he had appeared "anguished". A church source said:
"He is a marvellous man who has devoted his life to God. But
everything that has happened has shaken him." |
