Catholic World News News Feature
Iraqi priest released by kidnappers June 18, 2007
A Chaldean Catholic priest who was kidnapped on June 6 has been released unharmed, the AsiaNews service reports.
Father Hani Abdel Ahad, who was seized by gunmen in Baghdad, was described as "very tired but in good condition" after his release.
The Chaldean priest was seized along with several young men as they headed toward a seminary in Baghdad. The young men were soon released, but the kidnappers demanded a high ransom for the priest.
AsiaNews reports that the kidnapping of priests in Iraq has a dual purpose in Iraq; it is "not only a source of money but also a way to terrorise the now shrinking Christian community whose surviving members resist against al odds against an ongoing campaign of persecution."
[For a more complete account see the AsiaNews web site.]
