UPDATE:
Fate of ISI captive Fr Tom remains uncertain
JOHN DAYAL writes in a special article for SabrangIndia:
The fate of Indian Catholic priest, Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, remains uncertain a day after Easter as different church officials continued to hope he was alive, but admitted there was no evidence on whether he had been “crucified” on Good Friday by the Islamic State terrorists who had taken him captive on 4th march 2016 in Aden, Yemen. Sixteen persons including an Indian Nun of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charities order had been killed by the ISIS in their assault on an old age home run by the nuns. News of his crucifixion on Good Friday carried by Washington Times have been denied by Catholic sources to this writer.
Hopes for the priest have waxed and waned with divergent “news” going viral on social media, and even usually reticent web portals.
In a communiqué on Easter night, Bishop Paul Hinder, in charge of the Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen, indicated that the priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco order was alive though “no information can be given about the efforts to get Fr. Tom free.’ The bishop asks “not to decrease the prayers” for Fr. Tom.
Bishop Hinder said he had “reason to believe that the religious was alive and in the hands of the kidnappers.” Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who had earlier reportedly confirmed the execution of the priest, later told the Kathpress news: "There is still hope."
The Indian government said it was still actively trying to rescue the priest. External affairs minister, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, had tweeted on March 26 that the government was continuing efforts to rescue Father Thomas Uzhunnalil. But the Washington Times reported March 27 that Fr Tom had indeed been “crucified” by the ISIS on Good Friday. It said repeated that the priest's death was confirmed by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn at an Easter Vigil Mass.
Catholic sources later told this correspondent that the Cardinal had been misquoted by international news groups.
Monseigneur Joseph Chinnayan, the deputy secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India was quoted by Ucanews.com on March 28 that he has contacted "all authentic sources" within the church and government. "As of now, there is absolutely no basis for this talk of crucifixion," he said. The CBCI is expected to meet government of India officials soon to urgent them for more intense efforts to secure the release of the popular priest.
Father Mathew Valarkote, spokesman for the Salesian's Bangalore province, told the media the government statements so far "definitely shows that no harm has been done” to the 56-year-old Kerala born cleric. “We will disseminate news in case we have any confirmed reports from credible sources,” he told a Matters India reporter.
The reports of the crucifixion of Fr Tom first flashed when Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna was quoted reportedly mentioning it during the Easter Vigil at Stephansdom. The Dominican prelate was quoted saying the 56-year-old Salesian was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday. Polonia Christiana carried the news, based on Austrian media reports. Catholic News World carried the report on Easter, March 27. Church sources now say the Vienna cardinal might have based his statement on a WhatsApp message that began circulating early Saturday.
The Vatican and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation have been reportedly working with Mid East groups for his rescue.
Earlier Report:
Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna has confirmed last night, that the Salesian priest, Fr. Thomas Uzhunnalil was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday. Father Tom was with the Sisters of Mother Teresa who were killed in Yemen.
According to a report in Washington Times, Thomas Uzhunnalil, an Indian priest who was kidnapped in Yemen in March was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday. His execution was done in the same method that Romans were believed to use on Jesus on Good Friday. The report claims that his execution was confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna.
Earlier, the Indian government had confirmed the capture of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, the Indian priest from Bangalore, who was kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Yemen and said that efforts were underway to ensure that he is released. "Fr Tom Uzhunnallil – an Indian national from Kerala was abducted by a terror group in Yemen. We r making all efforts to secure his release," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. Her reaction comes after a growing alarm among the Christian community following an ominous report by the terror outfit to crucify him around Easter. This has been subsequently denied to JOHN DAYAL by Catholic groups who have said they have been misquoted.
Tom Unzhunnalil was reportedly kidnapped from the Missionaries of Charity’s home for the elderly in Aden where he serves as a chaplain on March 4. A spokesman for the Bangalore province of the Salesians was quoted saying that no group has taken any responsibility yet. A post on the group’s South Africa page has been taken down. Earlier, the Yemen authorities blamed ISIL for the attack on March 4. The External Affairs Ministry had said only one Indian nurse was killed in the terrorist attack in strife-torn Yemen's Aden city.
Sixteen people were killed in Aden when a group of terrorists stormed an elderly care home run by a Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity and sprayed bullets at the residents. There are around 80 residents living at the home, which is run by Missionaries of Charity, an organisation established by Mother Teresa. Recently, Missionaries of Charity nuns also came under attack in Yemen in 1998 when gunmen killed three nuns in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.