Colleagues and parishioners of a former Dundee priest who was kidnapped from his church in the Congo last month say they will ”never give up hope” he will be returned safe and well by his captors.
Despite hearing ”absolutely nothing” of Father Jean-Pierre Ndulani’s welfare for several weeks now, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Dunkeld said everyone is still hoping and praying for the safety of all three priests who were captured at gunpoint in October.
Father Ndulani left his parish in Wellburn Home in Dundee in September and was kidnapped just weeks later along with two other priests from the Order of the Augustinians of the Assumption.
They were taken from the Notre-Dame des Pauvres Parish Church house in Mbau, 70km from Butmebo in eastern Congo.
A ransom note was delivered to the authorities afterwards, but there have been no reports since of whether that has been paid or ignored by the authorities.
Father Ndulani has a condition which requires daily treatment and there was ”great concern” among his former parishioners that he will not have received any medication since the abduction.
Authorities where he was kidnapped said they are worried about the ”serious health condition” of one of the churchmen in the war-torn area of North Kivu.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Dunkeld said: ”We will never give up hoping and we’ll keep on praying for the safety of Father Jean-Pierre and his colleagues.
”We are hearing absolutely nothing from out there and it’s a nightmare scenario for us all. The church out there knows nothing either. We’re all in the dark.
”There is increasing concern as every day goes by for his well-being, but we would never give up hope that he and the other two priests will be returned safely.
”We are all aware of the danger he and his brother priests are facing at the hands of their captors but we will continue to pray for them.”