ISIS crucify priest in chilling Easter execution after he was kidnapped from old people's home
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/isis-crucify-priest-chilling-easter-7640569 10:34, 28 Mar 2016
Updated 11:36, 28 Mar 2016
By Jessica Haworth , Ruth Halkon , Sam Webb
Father Tom Uzhunnalil was seized when four armed militants stormed an old people's home in Aden in Yemen on March 4, killing 16
Sick ISIS terrorists have carried out their horrific threat to crucify a priest who was kidnapped by the jihadis earlier this month.
Father Tom Uzhunnalil was allegedly seized when four armed militants stormed an old people's home in Aden in Yemen on March 4.
Now the Washington Times has reported the savage murder has been confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna.
It is claimed the gunmen killed 16 people, including four nuns, in the brutal attack.
Last week, the Franciscan Sisters of Siessen posted on Facebook reports that the Salesian priest would be crucified in a brutal murder on Good Friday.
No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the kidnap of the priest, who was a member of the Silesian order in Bangalore, India, but a survivor said ISIS was to blame.
The Indian government's Ministry of External Affairs vowed it would leave "no stone unturned" in its efforts to find the missing priest before it was too late.
Getty Crucifixion in the Museum of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, Italy
ISIS savagely used the same execution method as those who killed Jesus
According to India Today, the department was working with the government in Yemen "to find the location of Father Tom".
Church offices in Vatican and Vatican diplomatic channels also worked to locate the priest and secure his release, UCA news reported.
Over the weekend the Franciscan Sisters of Siessen posted: "Was informed that the Salesian priest, Fr.Tom who was kidnapped by ISIS from the Missionaries of Charity Home in Yemen is being tortured and is going to be crucified on Good Friday.
"This calls for serious concerted prayers from all of us."
Some members of Fr Tom's order have dismissed the reports of his imminent death, saying they know nothing of his fate.
But they are unable to say where the priest may be held or whether he is alive or dead.
British jihadi pays tribute UK born ISIS fighter Al Britani in propaganda video
ISIS have cut a swathe of terror and death across the Middle East
Father Mathew Valarkot, spokesman for the Salesians’ Bangalore province to which the kidnapped priest belongs, said: “We have absolutely no information on Fr Tom.
"But even today we do not know who has taken him and what their motives are because no one has claimed responsibility."
Fr Tom, 56, had been in Yemen for four years working as a chaplain to the Sisters of Mother Teresa.
Read more : Fears grow for priest 'kidnapped by ISIS' who may be crucified on Good Friday
He insisted on remaining in the dangerous country even though all but one of his fellow priests had left and his church had been torched by suspected terrorists.
Earlier this month, the sole survivor of the brutal attack, Sister Sally, described how the militants, who she said belonged to ISIS, killed everyone else.
Her account, reported in the Christian Post , described how she evaded death while the ISIS fighters searched for her by hiding behind a door
It reads: "They were killed one by one. They tied them to trees, shot them in the head and smashed their heads."
"These ISIS men were everywhere, searching for her, as they knew there were five [nuns]
"At least three times they came into the refrigerator room. She did not hide, but remained standing behind the door — they never saw her. This is miraculous."
Over the past year, the Houthi rebel movement and military units loyal to the former president have been battling a US-backed, Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally-recognised government.
Almost 6,300 people, half of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting and ISIS and al-Qaeda are exploiting that weakness to gain a foothold in the region.
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