On Feb. 22 Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India announced the release of Alexis Prem Kumar, S.J., in a comment on his Twitter feed. The Indian Jesuit had been seized in June 2014 in western Afghanistan after a visit to a Jesuit-supported school for the children of returning refugees he supervised as the Afghanistan country representative for Jesuit Refugee Services. Peter Balleis, S.J., the international director of J.R.S., said in a statement released to the press: “The last eight months have been a long and difficult period of uncertainty.... You cannot imagine our relief that he is now home, safe and sound. We are aware of the tireless efforts at many levels to achieve his release and we are grateful for the consolation we have received from the prayerful support of countless friends—including those of the school children from the school where he was kidnapped.” Despite the abduction, J.R.S. has continued its work in Afghanistan. “We were close to the Afghan people before the abduction of Father Prem and we will continue to accompany them in any way we can,” said Stan Fernandes, S.J., the J.R.S. regional director in South Asia.
Jesuit Freed by Taliban
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
A cosmopolitan stance—one that values other cultures while treasuring the unique gifts of one's own—is a necessary one in a world where Donald Trump is destroying the venturing spirit and generosity of the American people.
Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders to reject the temptation to use “powerful and sophisticated weapons,” as President Donald J. Trump aired the possibility of using massive bombs to destroy Iran’s Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant.
As Chicago’s “No Kings” protests against President Trump wound down Saturday afternoon, the celebration of Pope Leo at White Sox stadium began. Which made me wonder: Does one impact the other?
In judging the morality of an act of war, an easy ask is always: “Was the belligerent party left with no other recourse?” That does not appear to be true in this case.