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IRAQ-PRIEST (SECOND UPDATE) Aug-22-2006 (xxx words) With photos. xxxi
Pope appeals for release of priest kidnapped in Baghdad
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI appealed for the release of a Chaldean Catholic priest who was kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq, just after celebrating Mass Aug. 15 for the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
"His Holiness makes a heartfelt appeal to the abductors to release the young priest at once so that he can return to the service of God, the Christian community and his countrymen," said a message sent by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, to Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad.
Masked kidnappers forced Father Saad Sirop Hanna, 34, to stop his car, then they took him away, Vatican Radio reported Aug. 18. Father Hanna works at St. Jacob Parish in Dora, one of Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhoods.
Father Philip Najim, the Rome-based representative of the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Baghdad, confirmed the report.
Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk told the British branch of the charity Aid to the Church in Need that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of about $1 million.
As of Aug. 21, there still was no news about Father Hanna, Father Najim said.
In the Aug. 19 message to Patriarch Delly, Cardinal Sodano said Pope Benedict's thoughts "also go to all the victims of abduction in your country, and he prays that this dreadful scourge, as well as the terrible daily bloodshed which delays the dawn of reconciliation and rebuilding, will finally come to an end."
Father Najim said the kidnapping of Father Hanna "is truly a very sad situation because he is a young priest who was continuing his studies. In fact, he was supposed to come here to Rome to study. He is a young priest who has dedicated his life to serving both the nation and all the Christian faithful he encounters."
Besides serving as pastor of St Jacob, the priest was the director of philosophy at Babel College, near the capital. Aid to the Church in Need had agreed to sponsor him to study for a doctorate in philosophy in Rome, starting this fall.
"Given the situation" of violence and confusion in Baghdad, especially in Dora where various militias have been fighting each other for months, "it is difficult to identify who took him," Father Najim said.
The priest said Patriarch Delly met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after the kidnapping and was assured that "everyone is trying to resolve this situation as soon as possible and to secure the release of our priest."
The Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni political organization, immediately condemned the kidnapping, Vatican Radio said.
"This demonstrates how united the Iraqi people are and that they are not trying to make divisions, because we are one people trying to live in peace," Father Najim said. "It does not surprise me that the Islamic party issued this statement.
"The Catholic Church in Iraq suffers daily, like the rest of the Iraqi people," he said. "Water and electricity are lacking. There are not enough hospitals but, more than anything, there is no security."
Meanwhile, Archbishop Sako told Aid to the Church in Need in a telephone interview that the kidnapping had sent shock waves throughout the Christian community.
"Christians are living in a panic, and they are terrified of more attacks on their priests and their churches," he said. "When a priest is kidnapped, the Christian community takes it very seriously because he is such an important religious symbol."
Describing the capital as "a jail" from which people were desperate to escape, Archbishop Sako said, "You cannot imagine what it is like for the people in Baghdad."
Father Habib al Nafaly, chaplain to the Chaldean community in London, described Father Hanna as "a very close friend" and asked for prayers from the international community.
"It is very miserable now in Baghdad," said Father al Nafaly, who recently returned to London after a three-week visit to his native Iraq. "It is as if the country has gone back to prehistoric times -- there is no law and order at all."
He added that in the immediate area where he stayed, on average at least one person was killed every day during the three weeks he was in the country.
"Iraq has been divided up into religious sections, and each section has its own leader -- each one a little Saddam, who has to be obeyed," said Father al Nafaly. He said each leader was imposing his own rules such on such topics as alcohol, wearing jeans, use of mobile phones and the Internet -- each punishable by death.
In early August, another Baghdad Chaldean priest, Father Raad Washan of Holy Family Parish, was kidnapped and held for about 48 hours.
Church officials said Aug. 20 Mass attendance in Baghdad was very low after a 48-hour curfew was introduced amid fears of a surge in sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Islamic factions.
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Contributing to this story was Simon Caldwell in London.
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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