New Delhi: The Catholic bishop in charge of Southern Arabia and Yemen says he believes that the abducted Indian priest is alive and that negotiations are still on for his release.
Bishop Paul Hinder’s clarification came amid reports quoting Austrian media that Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil was crucified on Good Friday.
The Capuchin Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia told German Catholic News Agency (KNA) that there was no reason to believe that Fr Uzhunnalil “has actually been crucified.”
A source linked to Bishop Hinder’s office says the news about the execution would not only hinder the negotiations for the priest’s release but endanger his life.
Meanwhile the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) says it could not verify the news about the crucifixion. “We have contacted all possible links mentioned in the news, even the Vienna cardinal who was the prime source,” CBCI deputy secretary general Monsignor Joseph Chinnayyan told Matters India Monday evening.
The CBCI official said Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the archbishop of Vienna, clarified that his request for prayers for Fr Uzhunnalil during the Easter Vigil was made after the prelate received a message through social media network that the Indian priest was crucified by his abductors on Good Friday. The cardinal had no other source, Monsignor Chinnayyan said.
The Austrian media had quoted the cardinal as confirming the execution. Other media groups carried the news quoting the Austrian media as the source.
The Vienna archdiocese’s website says Cardinal Schönborn has told Kathpress on March 27 that had spoken with bishops of the Arab world and found “there is still hope.”
The website says the information about the alleged crucifixion came from a prayer community “Corpus Christi Dubai” that reported the priest’s crucifixion on their Arabic website. “The prayer community in turn relied on information of the Catholic Archbishop of the Indian city of Bangalore, Bernard Moras,” says the German website.
Monsignor Chinnayyan said the news has caused much anxiety among Christians in India, with bishops calling him up to verify the news. The Church official said a CBCI delegation plans to meet India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as she soon as she lands in Delhi.
The delegation was to meet the minister Monday evening to apprise the Christian community’s anxiety and to request the government help for Fr Uzhunnalil’s release. However, the minister, who was away on accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on election tour, could not get back to the capital on Monday. “Her staff members have assured us that the minister would meet us as soon as she lands in Delhi,” Monsignor Chinnayyan said.
Bishop Hinder, 73, was initially appointed as an Auxiliary Bishop in the former Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia on 30 January 2004.[2]