Kidnapped Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil Appeals for Pope's Help in YouTube Video
“I request also the other bishops all over the world to come to my help to save my life.”
“Dear Pope Francis … as a father, please take care of my life,” Father Tom Uzhunnalil, kidnapped Salesian priest, said in a heartwrenching YouTube video posted Dec. 26. “My health is deteriorating; I am in need of hospitalization soon. Please come to my help quickly.”
Fr. Tom was abducted March 4 in Aden, provincial capital of Yemen, in an ambush on a Missionaries of Charity-run retirement home. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since March 2015, when Shia rebels attempted to oust Yemen’s Sunni-led government. Saudi Arabia has led a pro-government coalition. Both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have set up strongholds in the country amid the power vacuum. More than 6,000 people have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations.
The priest also urged the Church and government of India, his home nation, to come to his aid.
“Several months have gone by and my captors have made many contacts with the government of India to get me released,” the priest said. “I am very sad that nothing has been done seriously in my regard."
“I request also the other bishops all over the world to come to my help to save my life,” Fr. Tom said. “I very much depressed. I request also my fellow human beings of different governments to consider me as a human person and come to my help on a humanitarian level to get me released and save my life. I need your help. Please help me.”
Pope Francis appealed for the priest’s release after his Sunday April 10th address in St. Peter’s Square. “I renew my appeal for the freeing of all kidnapped persons in armed conflict zones,” the Pope said. “In particular, I wish to remember Salesian priest Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in Aden, Yemen last March 4.”
This past spring, there were reports of Fr. Tom being crucified on Good Friday. Those rumors were later discredited.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia urged Christians to pray for Fr. Tom in a Sept. 2 interview with CNA. “Fr. Tom … had returned to Yemen, asking me and the provincial for permission,” Bishop Paul Hinder told CNA. “I told him: ‘If you want, I will help you enter my country.’ Certainly today it’s painful to think about. But I am still convinced it was right,” Bishop Hinder said. “In war you can never predict what happens.”
Let's continue to pray for Fr. Tom's release so he can continue to serve his people.
