Pope asks kidnappers to free boy

A television appeal has been made to the boy's kidnappers

Pope Benedict XVI has pleaded for the immediate release of a 17-month-old epileptic Italian boy kidnapped from his home near Parma last Thursday.

The pontiff called for "the immediate and unconditional release of little Tommaso Onofri" in a telegram to the local bishop, Cesare Bonicelli.

The telegram expressed the Pope's "solidarity with the relatives".

The Italian media has been gripped by the case since the baby was snatched from his family by two men last week.

The boy's parents have appeared on television in an appeal to the kidnappers, saying their son desperately needs medicine to control his epileptic seizures.

No ransom demand has been made public but investigators believe extortion is the motive for the kidnapping, as Mr Onofri's job at a local post office gives him access to deposit accounts.