Goa, Mar. 20, 2006 (CWNews.com) - The church in Goa, on the west of coast of India, has been stunned by the murder of a Catholic parish priest.

The murder came to light when Father Eusebio Ferrao, pastor of Macasana Parish in southern Goa, did not turn up for the early morning mass on Saturday. Parishioners eventually investigated, and parishioners found him dead in his room, evidently smothered with a pillow.

"We are in the woods about the motive behind this murder. It is inexplicable to us," Father Loyola Pereira, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Goa )which encompasses the tiny Goa state, a former Portuguese colony) told CWN. Though police are curious about two "friends" who had dinner with the priest the previous night, Father Loyola said there is no definite information about the identity of these guests, who came from northern India.

The funeral of the slain priest is scheduled for Tuesday, March 21.

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