Another Catholic priest seized by jihadists in Syria

May 22, 2015

A Catholic monk has been kidnapped from a monastery in Qaryatayn, Syria.

Father Jacques Mourad, the prior of the Mar Elias monastery, was seized by armed men representing an Islamic rebel group. The monastery is branch of a monastic community that was re-established by the Italian Jesuit missionary, Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, who was himself kidnapped in July 2013 and is still missing.

Father Mourad had recently expressed concern about jihadist activity in the vicinity of the monastery, which is located near the city of Homs, a possible target for the rebels. During the past week the monastery had welcomed many refugees from Palmyra, a city being overrun by the Islamic State.

 

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Further information:

• Fr. Jacques Murad kidnapped; he belonged to the same community of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio (Fides)
• Jihadists in Syria kidnap another priest, signalling ISIS is on the move (ACN)