Kottayam: Media reports of Keralite priest Fr Tom Uzhunnalil being crucified by terror outfit Islamic State in Yemen are untrue, Abu Dhabi archbishop Paul Hinder said on Monday.
This latest information has been passed on to the family members of Fr Tom.
Adv. Kunjaugusty, a second cousin of the priest, told our correspondent that neither the central government nor the church has confirmed reports on the death of Fr Tom.
Earlier, quoting Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, the Washington Times had said on its website that the Keralite priest abducted by gunmen in Yemen's Aden earlier this month was reportedly crucified by Islamic State militants.
According to the Washington Times, the Islamic State militants murdered the priest on Good Friday.
"His execution by the Islamist sect, using the same method used by the Romans on Jesus and marked on Good Friday every year, was confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna," the website said.
Onmanorama had earlier reported about how Fr Tom's relatives were worried by messages circulating on social media of the priest going to be crucified.
Read: Devout Keralite priest refused to bow to terror tactics
The priest was kidnapped from an old-age home run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. The gunmen also killed about 16 people during the attack, including four nuns.
A local resident in Aden had reported that the gunmen had tied up Fr Tom with the altar curtain before taking him away.
Earlier, Onmanorama had reported about the messages widely circulated in social media platforms that said the priest's life is in imminent danger.
Fr Tom has been carrying out his charity mission in Yemen for the past four years. He last visited visited Kerala in September, 2014, to attend his mother's funeral.
In God they trust: Family prays for the safe return of Fr Tom
