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| Wednesday, 19 January 2005 |
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Kidnapped Iraq bishop freed VATICAN CITY, Tuesday (Reuters) The Iraqi Catholic archbishop of Mosul who was kidnapped at gunpoint on Monday was freed on Tuesday and said no ransom had been paid. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, said he hoped his ordeal would not be seen as an attack on the Church in the predominantly Muslim nation. The Vatican, which had condemned the abduction as an "act of terrorism", welcomed his release and said Pope John Paul "thanked God for the happy ending". Casmoussa told Vatican Radio he had been treated well during his one day in captivity. "As soon as they found out I was a bishop, their attitude changed ... I think that my abduction was a coincidence. In recent times, there have been numerous kidnappings around here," Casmoussa said. "Based on the conversations I had with them (the kidnappers), it didn't appear to me that they wanted to strike at the Church as such." Misna, a Rome-based Catholic missionary news agency with extensive contacts in the developing world, earlier reported the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of $200,000. The Vatican, which on Monday night demanded the immediate release of the archbishop, confirmed no ransom had been paid. Casmoussa was kidnapped by gunmen in two cars in the northern al-Majmoua al-Thaqafiya district of Iraq's third largest city on Tuesday afternoon while he was on his way to visit some families in his congregation. |
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