Call to 'free hostages

THE FAMILY of kidnapped Servite, Fr Lawrence Jenco have called for renewed efforts to free six Americans held hostage in Lebanon after the release of one of the men.
The Revd Benjamin Weir, a Presbyterian minister, who had been held by Shiite Moslem extremists since May 8, 1984, was released on September 14. He warned that the remaining six hostages could be executed if the demand made by their captors that Kuwait free 17 prisoners was not met.
At a press conference in Washington on September 1 9,John Jenco and Sue Franceschini, brother and sister of Fr Jenco, asked for renewed efforts to free the remaining hostages. Fr Jenco, 50, director of Catholic Relief Services in Lebanon was kidnapped on January 8.
John Jenco relayed
information from Mr Weir about Fr Jenco's condition and said he was "cautiously optimistic" but "lots more can be done" to free the hostages.
He said his brother's health is good and that Mr Weir had brought back letters from four of the hostages, including the priest. Mr Weir met with Fr Jenco and three other hostages — Terry Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press; Thomas Sutherland of the American University in Beirut; and David Jacobsen, director of the American University Hospital — on numerous occasions, including the day of his release.
Jenco said Mr Weir told him the priest has been visited by doctors and given medicine for high blood presure. When Fr Jenco was kidnapped it was reported that tests indicated he has a heart condition.