Jesuits welcome release of abducted priest

Jesuits welcome release of priest

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Thursday, 26 February 2015 AT 03:18 PM IST

    

Fr Alexis Prem Kumar Alex, Pune, Afghanistan, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS),

Pune: Jesuits in the city have welcomed the release of Fr Alexis Prem Kumar, a fellow member of Society of Jesus, after eight-month long captivity in Afghanistan. Fr Bhausaheb Sansare, Pune Jesuit provincial, said, “We Jesuits thank Indian and Afghanistan governments for their support in safe release of Fr  Alexis.”

Fr Sansare said that the Jesuit’s abduction for eight months had left many Jesuits spending sleepless nights.

Fr Alexis was abducted by some unidentified men in western Afghanistan on June 2,  2014. Fr Stan Fernandes, former Pune Jesuit Provincial and currently Delhi-based director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), was involved in the process of  getting him safely released.

Fr Sansare added, “The abduction did disturb us. Nonetheless, the Jesuits’ works in Afghanistan continued and we will continue to serve the poor and needy.”

JRS continued to operate its programmes in Afghanistan to ensure that Afghan students had continued access to quality education.

Jesuit Refuge Services has been active in Afghanistan since 2005.

Jesuit refugee service-

The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international body serving the forcibly displaced persons. With its headquarters in Rome and with teams working in nearly 50 countries, JRS provides education, health, social and other services to refugees, more than half of whom are women. JRS says that its services are provided to refugees regardless of race, ethnic origin or religious beliefs. 

 

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Comments

Robert Das sj. - Saturday, 28 February 2015 AT 07:00 PM IST

Great Camil. It will be good if you could also highlight the Jesuit Apostolates, besides education, Parishes. It would be good for you to contact Fr. Stan,and periodically present more social involvement of the Jesuits. Thanks. Robert Das sj.

Jesuits express concern over missing priest

Jesuits express concern over missing priest
- CAMIL PARKHE Thursday, 12 June 2014 - 11:07 PM IST
Tags: Jesuits, Jesuit Refugee Service, priest, Fr Alexis Prem Kumar, abduct, crime, Pune, Camil Parkhe

PUNE: Jesuits in the city have expressed concern over the fate of the fellow priest from Madurai province who has been abducted by some people while working for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Afghanistan.

Fr Alexis Prem Kumar (47), Director of the JRS in Afghanistan, was abducted by unidentified persons near Herat on June 2.

Fr Kumar was visiting a school for refugee Afghan children when the abductors took him along with them.

There was no violence at the time of the kidnapping, sources said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction yet.

Jesuit priests have been working in several areas of Afghanistan and generally keep a low profile.

Fr Stan Fernandes, a former head of the Pune Jesuit province, had also been working in Afghanistan for the past few years.

Jesuit Refugee Service works among people who are denied human rights, or are driven out of their homeland and persecuted.

Its work consists of rehabilitation, education and counselling.

NO NEWS AFTER 10 DAYS

In an email, Fr Joy Karayampuram, spokesperson for the Jesuit Refugee Service, has said, "This is the 10th day after the abduction of the humanitarian aid worker Fr Alexis Prem Kumar. We have no information about the whereabouts of Fr. Alexis till today. We are all praying for his safe return."

 

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