Christians in global prayer drive for safe release of Fr. dall'Oglio
Beirut, 25 January 2014: In response to an initiative from Iraq, a group of associations
close to the mission of the Jesuit Father Paolo dall'Oglio - the Italian-born priest
abducted in Syria on July 29 last year - has decided to hold a prayer drive Wednesday,
January 29 to show solidarity and pray for his safe release. The missionary was kidnapped
six months ago in Raqqa in the north of the country, in an area under the control
of the Islamic State in Iraq and of the East, and since then there has been no news
of his whereabouts or well-being.
A monk bound by a deep friendship with Fr.
Dall'Oglio started the initiative of solidarity which will be held simultaneously
in Rome, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Beirut, London and Geneva. During the time of prayer
texts written by the kidnapped priest will be read and there will also be several
first hand testimonies about him as a person and his mission.
At the request
of friends and family of Paolo dall'Oglio, the meeting of prayer and solidarity for
the Italian missionary and all the other people abducted in Syria will remember only
his humanitarian work and apostolate. They have specifically asked that there be no
references to political positions, to avoid any kind of problems for Mar Moussa community,
founded by the Italian priest.Source: AsiaNews