Pope Francis has condemned the "intolerable brutality" of ISIS in Syria and Iraq at Sunday Angelus. The Pope led the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square in prayers for Christians and others who have been kidnapped or are victims of the Islamist terrorists. Francis called for silent prayers for "these sisters and brothers who suffer for their faith in Syria and Iraq". He urged "everyone, in line with their possibilities, (to) act to alleviate the suffering" of those currently being persecuted by ISIS and assured those being targeted by the terrorists that they "have not been forgotten.” The Pope was speaking on the day that 19 of the 220 Assyrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS in north-eastern Syria were released.