Rome, Italy, Oct 15, 2007 / 10:15 am
The Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Basile Georges Casmoussa, has denied a report by the Aina news agency that four Iraqi priests kidnapped last Saturday have been released. “The two priests Father Pius Afas and Father Mazen Ishoa are still in the hands of their captors,” he said.
According to the Misna news agency, which spoke directly with the archbishop, the news of the release “is not accurate. The last contact with the kidnappers was yesterday evening (Sunday) when they called us on the phone and asked for a ransom payment of one million dollars—an amount that is not within our possibilities,” the agency reported.
“This morning we have called the kidnappers a number of times, but we have not yet received an answer. We have faith and we pray for the release of our two priests,” the archbishop said, adding that he was hopeful the priests would be released soon.
Pope calls for release