London Holds Prayer Vigil for Christians Abducted in Iraq as Families Continue Wait

An inter-faith prayer vigil for the release of the four Christians being held captive in Iraq was held last night, Dec. 12th, outside St Martin's in the Fields Church in London’s Trafalgar Square.

|TOP|Prior to the emotional vigil, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster made an appeal for the release of the four Westerners that were kidnapped whilst carrying out a Christian peace and reconciliation trip into the region.

The Archbishop made the appeal in a special message sent to Pax Christi, which was one of the organisers of the prayer event.

The message stated, “I want to unite my prayers to yours as you remember in your vigil the four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams being held hostage in Iraq.”

The families of the four men were also offered comforting words from the Archbishop as he said, “We are thinking of them, and praying, too, that the hearts of those who hold them be converted to the cause of peace and love.”

The deadline for the Christian British hostage, Norman Kember, and his three colleagues passed by at the weekend with no information emerging as to the outcome of the situation. Diplomats working in the region are now desperately searching to discover what has happened to the four captives as friends and family anxiously wait.

A terrorist group named ‘Swords of Truth’ has claimed the kidnappings and have stated their claims that the Christian peace workers were spies and that they would be executed unless their demands were met.

|AD|The extended deadline passed, however, on Saturday with no news surfacing; increasing the tension surrounding the negotiations.

Repeated pleas have been made by Christian leaders as well as Muslim leaders for the hostages to be released, as the four men had in fact simply travelled to Iraq as a “gesture of solidarity” with Canada-based international Christian group, the Christian Peacemaker Teams.

The friends and family of the British hostage have had to endure a restless period, waiting for any news that would fulfil their hopes of Kember’s safe return.

Kember is a trustee of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and its Director Chris Cole said, “We are looking for a miracle at this stage.”

The BBC report that a friend of Kember, Bruce Kent said, “I haven't given up hope at all. They may be working on some way of getting off the hook without losing face. It's quite possible they may be preparing a video to say why they are releasing them.”

As the weekend came to an end, Iraqi interior minister, Bavan Jabr commented that he had “no new information” on the hostages. He added, “We are always ready to protect them. They are all people who came to serve us.”

In addition, the British Defence Secretary, John Reid said that the government has received no further information regarding Kember. He said, “We are doing, through the Foreign Office, through (Foreign Secretary) Jack Straw, everything possible to try and make sure his life is saved and that of his colleagues is protected.”

The BBC World Affiars Editor John Simpson, in Baghdad, reported to the BBC that it is likely to take days before it is known what has happened to hostages after deadlines pass. He referred to the murders of other Britons previously in Iraq, including Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan, saying, “It's difficult to be too hopeful about the future but, of course, there's always the possibility that this time will be different.”