Militias in the Sudan are targeting minority groups for kidnappings, leaving many young Christian men afraid to go to Mass.

"People are uncertain about the future. The pressure is greater than it was a year ago," Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Adwok Kur of Khartoum said. "There are more abductions now than in the past."

There has been an upsurge in abductions since November, the bishop told Aid to the Church in Need Feb. 9. Young men have sometimes been snatched from their homes at night.

The men, many of whom are university students, are being forced to fight the government of the newly independent South Sudan and the South Sudan-based Sudanese People's Liberation Army.

"Those who are abducted and who are found to be unable to join the military are asked to pay money to bail themselves out," Bishop Adwok said.

Christians feel particularly at risk because many belong to the South Sudan tribes targeted by the militia.

Bishop Adwok said that youngsters so fear abduction that they are deterred from attending the liturgy on Sundays and feast days.

Concern about the kidnappings threatened to overshadow the annual celebrations of Sudan's national saint, St. Josephine Bakhita, whose feast was transferred to Feb. 10.

The situation is becoming especially difficult for those preparing to return to their homeland in South Sudan, the bishop said.

"The militia seem to have the upper hand. They can do whatever they want and the government will not stop them or oppose what they are doing."

The bishop's comments follow the abduction and release of two priests. They were taken from their parish Jan. 15 in the town of Rabak and were held for two weeks. They were beaten by men wielding a metal instrument.

Their abductors demanded a large ransom, which the Church refused to pay.

The priests were released after pressure from the Sudanese government and other influential groups. The two were sent to hospital for health checks and are undergoing therapy and rest.