‘Vatican played a crucial role in Fr Tom’s release’

The Vatican played a crucial role in rescuing Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was kidnapped one-and-a-half years ago by the ISIS while working in Yemen. As Father Tom came back home to India last Thursday, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), which persistently worked with the government to bring Father Tom back, celebrated his return by organising a reception for him on Friday in Bengaluru.

Reverend Theodore Mascarenhas, CBCI secretary general, said, “The day we got to know that Father Tom has gone missing, we approached the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for help. They were most cooperative. Over the last 18 months that Father Tom had gone missing, the MEA continuously assured us that he is alive, but told us that they do not know his exact location. There was so much uncertainty, but we kept praying.”

However, it is largely unknown how exactly Father Tom was rescued from ISIS’ captivity, but sources informed that Vatican’s intercession made the Sultan of Oman force his release. The first information of his release was announced by the Sultan of Oman in a press release and then Sushma Swaraj also tweeted the news of his safe rescue. 

After being released, the 59-year-old had gone to Vatican City to recuperate before returning to India. Father Tom reached Yemen in 2010 and was serving the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity of St Mother Teresa and the catholic population there.  In his address to the media on Thursday, Father Tom said, “I do not know how to thank God. He made it possible. My mind is clear. I thank the Almighty. I thank the government of India and various other countries—the Hindu brothers who worshipped for my well-being, the Muslim brothers who prayed to Allah for my safety. I now belong to the entire world.”