Kottayam, Mar 29: The reports about the crucifixion of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, the Salesian priest who was abducted from an old-age home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden in strife-torn Yemen, remain to be confirmed by official sources.
Confusion reigned over the priest’s fate on Monday, with conflicting versions being aired by different Church segments. Father Paul Thelakkat, spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church, the biggest Catholic church formation in Kerala, informed The media on Monday evening that the reports of Father Uzhunnalil’s crucifixion had finally been confirmed by the Salesian Order based in Bengaluru, to which Father Uzhunnalil belonged. Father Thelakkat had earlier in the day affirmed in a TV phone-in that he had enough reasons to believe that the reports of the crucifixion were right.
However, Fr. Joyce Francis, Provincial Superior of the Salesian Order contested Father Thelekkat’s contention. “I do not know from where Father Thelekkat got this information. I am the Provincial Superior and I have not made any statement of this nature,” he told The media.
The Syro-Malabar Church spokesperson retracted his statement by night. He informed The media that he now had credible information from Church sources in Yemen that Father Uzhunnalil was safe as of now.
Sources with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that they had no verifiable confirmation of the reported crucifixion of the priest. “We have spoken to the Vatican, but they have not confirmed the incident to us,” they said. The MEA sources also said they do not know whether the priest was abducted by the Islamic State. “There is even a possibility that he might have been abducted by a criminal gang,” they said.
The MEA sources also took a serious view of some Church authorities issuing statements independently on the matter, which still needed clarity. “Are they bigger than the Vatican,” they retorted.
Meanwhile, Fr. Uzhunnalil’s family at Ramapuram, near Pala, said they have been informed by one of their relatives who spoke to Archbishop Paul Hinder of Abu Dhabi, that reports about the crucifixion have not been confirmed.
Archbishop Hinder is the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, which has jurisdiction over the area where the abduction took place.
The Catholic priest was abducted on March 4 by an armed gang of four who shot at least 15 persons in the old-age home in Aden.
Fr Uzhunnalil was reportedly caught by them, tied with ropes and thrown into a vehicle before they sped away. Father Uzhunnalil has been working in Yemen for the last five years.
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