ASIA/BANGLADESH - Fr. Rozario, released after the seizure, he will remain for a period in the Bishop's residence

Rajshahi (Agenzia Fides) - Fr. William Walter Rozario, the Bangladeshi priest of the diocese of Rajshahi who disappeared on Monday and then found by the police in Syleth, in the north-east of the country, was released by the police and is now in the residence of the Bishop of Rajshahi, Mgr. Gervas Rozario, where he will stay for a few days or weeks. According to Fides sources, the priest is in an evident vulnerable psychological state, he is traumatized by his experience and has difficulty speaking. The Bishop has now arranged a period of rest for the priest, hoping that he will slowly regain peace and tranquility and forget the experience suffered.
The story of the alleged kidnapping remains to be clarified because the Bangladeshi police claim that the priest went away alone and did not suffer any violence, but is "mentally unstable". The local Church is still convinced that it was a seizure but now we intend to hear Fr. Rozario’s version of the facts and try and understand what happened. Fr Rozario, however, was not reported by law enforcement nor charged by a court.
"We are still convinced that he was kidnapped. Now he has to recover physical and mental energy. We will wait for a clarification", says a local priest to Fides, close to Fr. Rozario, claiming that "there are no elements to establish that he is mentally ill".
During a press conference held on Saturday in Natore, the police claimed that Fr. Rozario was not kidnapped, but had left the diocese on his own. The priest was present at the conference but did not speak "because of the evident state of shock in which he finds himself", says Fides source. Now family members and the Bishop ask to leave him alone so that he can recover completely. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 4/12/2017)

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priests

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violence

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human rights

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