FR. TOM’S THANKS: “YOU HAVE PURCHASED FREEDOM FOR ME”

(ANS – Bangalore, India – January 9) – With conviction and serenity, with that calm faith that has marked his public talks since he was set free, Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil through a short video thanked the Salesians, the Salesian Family, and all the people who during the 18 months of his captivity in Yemen prayed and offered sacrifices for him. He said, “I understand that if I was not hurt by my captors, if my mind was sane, if I was tranquil, all these are the fruit of your prayers and your sacrifices.”

His message was recorded and broadcast in the first days of January, almost a wish for the new year, to signify the beginning of a new page in his life, after his long experience of isolation and slow recovery.

Fr. Tom’s gratitude is addressed to God, first of all, and then spreads throughout the Congregation and the Salesian Family: “In the Lord’s name I wish to thank our Rector Major, the [general] council, all the provincials of the entire Salesian world, the rectors of the various communities, the confreres, the novices, the aspirants, and their families, in short, the entire Salesian Family who have been with me.”

“You have purchased freedom for me from the Lord,” he concludes, finally, specifying at the same time how he conceives the future of his vocation and his service for the Church and for society: “My mission in the coming years, or the period that the Lord has left for me, is to bear witness to this fact, that the prayers of each of us are heard by the Lord and we are blessed.”

The complete video is available on the ANSChannel on YouTube in the original English version and with subtitles in Italian and Spanish.