Baghdad, Iraq, Feb 29, 2008 / 15:00 pm
Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq was kidnapped on Friday by gunmen who killed his driver and two bodyguards. Pope Benedict has denounced the act as “premeditated” and “despicable” and called on the entire Catholic Church to pray for the archbishop’s prompt release.
Archbishop Rahho was ambushed as he left a church in the eastern al-Nour district, immediately after he finished celebrating the Way of the Cross at a local church and shared consoling words of hope and peace with the parishioners, according to local sources.
“Eyewitnesses said that a group of armed men attacked Archbishop Rahho’s vehicle. The gunmen opened fire on the car, killing the three aides, before kidnapping the archbishop.
"The bishop is in the hands of terrorists," Bishop Rabban al-Qas, the bishop of the northern Iraqi cities of Irbil and Amadiyah told reporters. "It's a terrible time for our church; pray for us," he added.