Sep. 12 (AsiaNews) - A Chaldean Catholic priest who was kidnapped in Baghdad on August 15 has been released, the AsiaNews service reports.
 Father Saad Hanna Sirop "is with his relatives," a source in Baghdad told AsiaNews. The apostolic nunio in Iraq confirmed that the priest was tired but healthy.
 
 The Iraqi priest, who headed theological studies at Babel College, the only Christian university in Iraq, was seized by a group of armed men after celebrating Mass on the feast of the Assumption. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Emmanuel Delly and Pope Benedict XVI had issued public appeals for his release.
 
 The reason for the kidnapping is not yet clear. Some Church leaders believed that the abductors were simple criminals hoping for a ransom payment; others believe they were Muslim extremists hoping to drive Christians from the country.