Rai from Brazil calls for the release of Bishops kidnapped in Aleppo

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rai ended his pastoral visit to Uruguay and arrived on Monday to Porte Allegro in Brazil, where the pastor of the parish Bishop Edgar Madi, the Consul General of Lebanon as well as a delegation from the Lebanese community were at the airport to welcome him.         

Upon his arrival, Rai and his accompanying delegation headed to the Lady of Lebanon Church in Porte Allegro where he held a ceremonial mass.             

In a statement, Rai called for the release of Bishops Boulos Yaziji and Youhanna Ibrahim who were kidnapped in Aleppo, as well as all the other abductees.         

“We call on all those who have contact with the kidnappers to contribute to the release of the hostages, in the name of Human Rights and for the sake of human dignity,” he said, noting that abducting the two bishops is irrelevant to political issues.             

Before leaving the Uruguayan capital in the morning, Rai had made a surprise visit to the former Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Fouad Daou and his wife at their residence in Montevideo.               

While in Uruguay, Rai visited several Lebanese families who had immigrated, including the prominent Mrad family.