Pleas, fears for kidnapped Iraqi bishop
ICC Note
Iraqi police are searching for Bishop Paulos Faraji Raho, who is kidnapped last week. Meanwhile, the kidnappers have asked for huge amount of ransom for the Bishop to be released.
Mosul, Mar. 3, 2008 (CWNews.com) – Iraqi police are scouring the city of Mosul and its surroundings, searching for the gunmen who abducted Chaldean Catholic Bishop Paulos Faraj Raho on February 29. As Church leaders pleaded for his release, an Iraqi bishop revealed that the kidnappers had issued a “staggering” ransom demand.
Bishop Shelmon Warduni, an auxiliary of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Baghdad, told the SIR news service that Church officials had sought unsuccessfully for a chance to speak with Bishop Rabo, whose physical condition is unknown. Church leaders declined to provide more details about their negotiations with the bishop’s captors, saying that the situation is extremely delicate.
