Open Doors reports

Fr. Affas

Two Iraqi priests kidnapped more than a week ago said they returned to their Mosul parish in good health and immediately celebrated mass. Unknown men kidnapped Fr. Affas, 68, and Fr. Ishoa, in his 30s, on October 13 in Mosul's Hay al-Thawra neighbourhood, to which the priests had travelled following the death of an elderly parishioner. Their captors freed them on Monday 22nd October at 11am at an undisclosed location in Mosul. The release came a day after two other Christians were abducted and an Orthodox priest's son was shot dead. Kidnappers have tortured several of the seven Iraqi priests kidnapped in Baghdad during the past year. Fr. Affas said that he and Fr. Ishoa had not sustained any injuries while in captivity and repeatedly thanked all those who had prayed for their release.

Fr. Ishoa

Head priest at St. Thomas parish, Fr. Affas is also director of Mosul's Biblical Center for lay people and former editor-in-chief of Arabic-language magazine Christian Thoughts. A Mosul priest told Compass that prior to his capture, Fr. Affas had received letters threatening to attack his congregation if they did not leave the city. Christians in Iraq continue to report attacks targeting their community amid the greater violence between Sunni and Shiite militias and U.S. forces. "It's normal for [Fr. Affas and Fr. Ishoa] not to explain everything on the telephone, because their kidnappers have probably told them not to talk about [torture]," said the clergyman, who requested anonymity. He said that the priests' telephones were probably tapped and their movements monitored.

A Vatican spokesperson registered the Pope's happiness over news of the release and said he hoped similar kidnappings would not continue in the future. Pope Benedict XVI had appealed for the liberation of the two clergymen during a papal address in Rome last week.