Father Tom has been missing since armed men attacked a charity house in Yemen on March 4.
Highlights
- Indian priest missing since ISIS attacked a charity house in Yemen
- Some social media reports suggested ISIS had crucified him on Good Friday
- Father Thomas Uzhunnalil is from Kerala's Kottayam district
A Salesian order Catholic priest said on Tuesday that there is no confirmed news about the "crucifixion" of Indian priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, by ISIS terrorists in Yemen.
"There is no confirmed news till date about Fr. Tom. Don't be carried away by the rumours on the social media," Father Vincent Matthew told news agency IANS.
The priest said that efforts are still underway at all levels to secure his release.
"This is the information I can share for the moment," added Father Matthew.
Efforts to reach the head of Catholic church in Bengaluru, Metropolitan Archbishop Bernard Moras, were not successful as he was not at his residence.
The social media and some news reports have disseminated news on the crucifixion of Mr Uzhunnalil by ISIS terrorists on Good Friday, March 25, after they kidnapped him from a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen.
The Indian priest was kidnapped on March 4 after ISIS terrorists barged into the care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Aden in 1992, and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of them from India.
Mr Uzhunnalil's ancestral home in Ramapuram in Kottayam district is currently closed as two of his brothers live abroad, while another lives in Gujarat.
The brother from Gujarat has reached Ramapuram after hearing the news of the kidnapping.
His relatives said they were in contact with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who regularly keeps in touch with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Salesian Order of priesthood was founded by Saint Francis de Sales in Italy to save the rising generations from the disastrous consequences of false and atheistical philosophical teachings introduced at the time of the French Revolution.