New Delhi: The Archbishop of Vienna has claimed, according to Daily Mail, that Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, 56, hailing from Pala in Kerala, was crucified by IS terrorists on Good Friday, but Abu Dhabi archbishop Paul Hinder denied it and the Ministry of External Affairs says it has no clue to the priest’s whereabouts.
There was 'no verifiable information' about the fate of a priest, government sources said.
ISIS-linked terrorists in Yemen kidnapped the priest during an attack at an old-age home run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Aden, southern Yemen. The Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, told a congregation gathered at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the Austrian capital of Vienna that the priest had been crucified.
The information came against the backdrop of reports claiming that the militant group had planned to execute the priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil on Good Friday last week.
Four foreign nuns, including an Indian, working as nurses were among those killed. Last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said India was making all efforts to secure the priest's release. Sources said the government has even approached the Vatican in this regard.
