‘I PRAYED FOR THE KILLERS’ — YEMEN PRIEST SPEAKS

Despite threat to his life from abductors, Father Tom was more worried about the lives of sisters and put his life in the hands of God

ROME: Father Tom Uzhunnalil’s first thought on being captured by armed gunmen in Yemen was not about his own safety.

Instead, he prayed to God to show mercy to his attackers, who’d stormed an old people’s home in Aden run by the Vatican and the Missionaries of Charity.

Uzhunnalil was released from captivity last week after the Omani government stepped in to help, responding to a plea from the Vati- can. An Omani Royal Air Force plane brought him to Muscat, before he left the country for Rome.

Speaking about his ordeal and events on the day he was kidnapped by the armed gang, Uzhunnalil said he was not afraid of death, and had no idea why his abductors did not kill him.

At about 8:40am on March 4 last year, gunmen stormed the home, killing 16 people, including four nuns. Uzhunnalil watched as two nuns were dragged in front of him and shot dead.

“I was experiencing great dis- tress. I prayed to God to be merciful to the sisters and others who were killed and to forgive the killers,” recalled Uzhunnalil. “I prayed to the Lord to give me the grace and strength to accept his will.”

“I only prayed to God to forgive the sisters and the persecutors and have mercy on them. I did not cry, nor did I have any fear of death.”

Uzhunnalil spent almost 18 months in captivity, before his captors agreed to the requests of the Catholic Church, and the Sultanate of Oman, to release him.

The Omani government had released a statement after Uzhunnalil’s plane landed safely in Muscat. “In response to the Royal Orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and as per a request from the Vatican to assist in the rescue of a Vatican employee, the authorities concerned in Oman, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, have managed to find a Vatican government employee.”

Upon Uzhunnalil’s release, the Vatican released a statement thanking His Majesty the Sultan.

“The Holy See fervently thanks all those who worked for his re- lease, and especially His Majesty and the competent authorities of the Sultanate,” the Vatican’s statement said. Speaking about the day armed men entered the home in Yemen, Uzhunnalil said: “After the blessing in the morning for the five sisters, I had breakfast; then I spent some more time in the chapel for personal prayer.”

“Around 8.40am, I’d just come out of the sisters’ house, when I heard a gunshot almost immediately, and one of the attackers held my hand, but I told him I was an Indian.”