Brother in Waiting

The Indian government might have dispelled rumors of the alleged Good Friday crucifixion of the Salesian priest Thomas Uzhunnalil, but his brother, Mathew, still worries. “I am waiting for clear good news,” said Uzhunnalil, 73. Since his brother was kidnapped in Aden, Yemen, Uzhunnalil has lived alone, with no television or radio, in his family’s ancestral home in Ramapuram, India. “I pray, recite the rosary and read,” Uzhunnalil said. “Leave everything in God’s hands and trust in him,” he said. He said he will return to his family in Gujarat “only after I have clear news about Father Tom.” His 56-year-old younger brother was kidnapped during a raid on March 4 by Muslim extremists on a home for the aged in Yemen run by the Missionaries of Charity; four religious sisters and 12 others were killed in the raid. The Indian government recently assured a delegation from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India that it was exploring all possible means for his “quick and safe release.”