Mosul, Iraq, Oct 22, 2007 / 08:28 am
Two Catholic priests kidnapped more than a week ago in Mosul have been released and are in good health, the Agence France-Presse reports.
Fathers Pius Affas and Mazen Ishoa were kidnapped last Saturday after receiving threats from an unknown group. They were reportedly held for a ransom of one million U.S. dollars, but it is unknown at present whether one was paid.
According to the Rome-based missionary agency Middle East Concern, Syro-Catholic Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa was in charge of negotiating the release of the priests.
Pope Benedict XVI, who had appealed for the priests' freedom the day after the kidnapping, responded to the news of the priests’ release by saying he was “extremely happy on hearing the news” and that he had followed "the recent events closely and with great concern."