ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Slain U.S. journalist James Foley was living his faith by bringing images to the world of people suffering from war and oppressive regimes, a Roman Catholic bishop said Sunday at a Mass in his honor. 
 
 Irene Harvey reaches over Barbara Bush to light her candle during a candlelight vigil for James Foley in his hometown of Rochester, N.H., Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014. Foley, a freelance journalist, was killed... (Associated Press) 
 
 Bishop Peter Libasci speaks during a special Mass for slain journalist James Foley at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic church in Foley's hometown of Rochester, N.H., Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. Foley was... (Associated Press) 
 
 A woman holds a candle during a vigil for James Foley in his hometown of Rochester, N.H., Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014. Several hundred people attended and paid tribute to the freelance American journalist... (Associated Press) 
 
 Mourners pack Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic church during a special Mass for slain journalist James Foley in his hometown of Rochester, N.H., Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. Foley was kidnapped on Thanksgiving... (Associated Press) 
 
 Mourners pack Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic church during a special Mass for slain journalist James Foley in his hometown of Rochester, N.H., Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. Foley was kidnapped on Thanksgiving... (Associated Press) 
 
 Bishop Peter Libasci said even after Foley was captured for the first time in Libya in 2011, he "went back again that we might open our eyes." 
 
 The Mass was attended by Foley's parents, John and Diane Foley, and hundreds of others in their hometown of Rochester, New Hampshire. Afterward, Libasci read aloud a letter from the Vatican extending the condolences of Pope Francis. 
 
 "Thank you for loving Jim," Diane Foley told the crowd after the Mass. 
 
 The crowd filled every pew and people stood three deep at the back of the church and along both sides of it. Gov. Maggie Hassan, along with U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte, attended the Mass. 
 
 Foley was kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day 2012 while covering the Syrian uprising. The Islamic State group posted a Web video Tuesday showing his killing and said it was in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes in northern Iraq. 
 
 Libasci invoked the prayer of St. Francis, which begins, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace," to implore the gathered not to hate but to heal. 
 
 "It is in giving that we receive," he recited. "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. To these words, I think we can say, 'Yes, I wish we could do that.' It is not beyond our capability. It is not impossible. Our Lord lived it. Our most Blessed Mother lived it. Many saints have lived it. James lived it." 
 
 In a packed Our Lady of the Holy Rosary church, the bishop frequently addressed Foley's parents and stressed their son's connection to family. He also prayed for another captive journalist, Steven Sotloff, and all captives. 
 
 "Jim went back again that we might open our eyes," Libasci said. "That we might indeed know how precious is this gift. May almighty God grant peace to James and to all our fragile world." 
 
 Libasci said after the Mass that people shouldn't think of vengeance. 
 
 "Look at what it's done already," he said. "Look at the heartbreak." 
 
 A funeral for Foley will be Oct. 18, what would have been his 41st birthday. 
 
 Foley's parents on Sunday released a letter that they say their son wrote while in captivity, which he asked an unidentified fellow hostage who was about to be freed to memorize and recount to his family so the letter would not be confiscated by his captors. 
 
 In the letter, posted on a Facebook page called "Find James Foley," Foley described being held with 17 other hostages and passing time by discussing movies, sports and trivia and playing games made up of scraps found in their jail cell. He said the hostages were fed daily and given tea and occasionally coffee. 
 
 Also Sunday, the U.S. government said Peter Theo Curtis of Massachusetts, a journalist who was held hostage for about two years by an al-Qaida-linked group in Syria, was released. White House national security adviser Susan Rice said Curtis, who wrote under the byline Theo Padnos, is now safe outside of Syria. 
 
 At a vigil Saturday night in Rochester, about 200 people gathered to show support for the Foley family. 
 
 "We are honored that you care and love Jim. We are honored that you recognized the sacrifices he made," John Foley said then. "He loved the Syrian people. He was devoted to telling their story and doing whatever he could to help their fight." 
 
 Speakers praised Foley's determination to report on the Syrian people uprooted by conflict. 
 
 "Tonight we want to honor freedom and love: the freedom that James so vehemently believed that all people deserved," said Nadia Alawa, founder of NuDay Syria, a Massachusetts-based organization working to ease the pain and loss in Syria. 
 
 The world's largest bloc of Islamic nations denounced Foley's "heinous" killing and reiterated its support for international efforts to confront the Islamic State fighters. 
 
 Iyad Madani, chief of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said in a statement Saturday that the actions of the Islamic State group have nothing to do with the values of Islam or his organization's founding principles of tolerance and co-existence. ||||| This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available. 
 
 BOSTON, Mass. — The extremist Islamic State claims to have executed journalist James Foley, who has been missing since November 2012 when he was kidnapped while reporting in Syria. 
 
 Video of Foley depicting his beheading was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday afternoon and later removed. The FBI on Wednesday morning told the Foley family they believed the video was authentic, but were continuing a longer process of official authentication. 
 
 Shortly thereafter, National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden announced that “the US Intelligence Community" had "reached the judgment that this video is authentic." 
 
 In remarks delivered shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the world is "appalled by the beheading of journalist James Foley" and said the United States will do whatever is needed to pursue "justice." 
 
 The video appeared following a threat made last week, GlobalPost CEO Phil Balboni told NBC on Wednesday. 
 
 The video asserts that the killing of Foley is in retaliation for recent airstrikes by the United States against IS militants in northern Iraq. In it, Foley, kneeling next to an apparent IS militant, makes comments against the US for its actions. The militant also shows on camera journalist Steven Joel Sotloff, who went missing in Syria a year ago, and issues a direct challenge to President Obama that Sotloff's fate will depend on the president's "next move." 
 
 As of 7 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Foley's family in New Hampshire had no confirmation from the US government of Jim's death. Late on Tuesday evening the family acknowledged there was a small chance the video may still prove to be fake, but nonetheless released the following statement: 
 
 "We have never been prouder of our son and brother Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people. We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world. 
 
 "We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim." 
 
 Earlier Tuesday, Philip Balboni, GlobalPost CEO and co-founder, made the following statement: "On behalf of John and Diane Foley, and also GlobalPost, we deeply appreciate all of the messages of sympathy and support that have poured in since the news of Jim’s possible execution first broke. We have been informed that the FBI is in the process of evaluating the video posted by the Islamic State to determine if it is authentic. ... We ask for your prayers for Jim and his family." 
 
 In the video purporting to show Foley's beheading, the militant next to him speaks with a British accent. The press office for UK Prime Minister David Cameron issued the following statement early Wednesday: "If true, the brutal murder of James Foley is shocking and depraved. The Prime Minister is returning to Downing Street this morning. He will meet with the Foreign Secretary and senior officials from the Home Office, Foreign Office and the agencies to discuss the situation in Iraq and Syria and the threat posed by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) terrorists." 
 
 More from GlobalPost: Britain is searching for Foley killer 
 
 GlobalPost, for whom Foley had reported in Syria, mounted an extensive international investigation from November 2012 to determine who kidnapped Foley and where he was being held. Significant research was undertaken throughout the Middle East, including along the Syria-Turkish border, in Lebanon, in Jordan and in other locations. 
 
 “Although GlobalPost’s investigation at one point led us to believe that James was being held by the Syrian government, we later were given strong reason to believe he was being held by Islamic militants in Syria," Balboni said. "We withheld this information at the request of the family and on the advice of authorities cooperating in the effort to protect Jim. GlobalPost, working with a private security company, has amassed an enormous amount of information that has not been made public.” 
 
 Foley was on a freelance assignment for GlobalPost when he was abducted in northern Syria on Nov. 22, 2012. He was on his way to the Turkish border when he was stopped by a group of armed men. Foley reported for GlobalPost from Libya and Afghanistan before traveling to Syria in the early days of the now long-running civil war that has taken the lives of more than 170,000. 
 
 Foley’s last article for GlobalPost detailed the growing frustration with the war among civilians in Aleppo. 
 
 The fact of Foley’s kidnapping was revealed publicly for the first time by his parents, John and Diane Foley of Rochester, New Hampshire, on Jan. 1, 2012, two months after his abduction. The only other American whose identity has been publicly revealed is Austin Tice, a freelance reporter for the McClatchy News Service and the Washington Post, who was kidnapped in August 2012. 
 
 While covering the Libyan civil war in 2011, Foley and two other journalists, American Claire Gillis and Spaniard Manu Brabo, endured a 44-day captivity in April and May of that year at the hands of then Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi. A fourth journalist, South African Anton Hammerl, was killed when the journalists were captured by Gaddafi fighters near Benghazi in eastern Libya. Foley later returned to Libya to cover Gaddafi’s fall and eventual death. Foley and GlobalPost correspondent Tracey Shelton were at the scene of Gaddafi’s capture in October 2011. ||||| Propaganda video circulated Tuesday claims to show beheading of photojournalist, who went missing in Syria in 2012 
 
 Militants from Islamic State (Isis) claimed to have killed an American journalist long held captive in Syria in retaliation for ongoing US air strikes against its forces in Iraq. 
 
 A propaganda video circulated on Tuesday showed a masked Isis fighter beheading a kneeling man dressed in an orange jumpsuit who is purported to be James Wright Foley, a photojournalist who went missing in Syria in 2012. 
 
 The masked executioner spoke in English, with what sounded like a British accent, and said the slaying came in response to the air strikes ordered by President Barack Obama against Isis 12 days ago. 
 
 Isis, whose chief spokesman came under US state department sanctions on Monday, warned of further revenge – including on another man purported to be a captured US journalist, Steven Sotloff – and in the video the victim was made to read a statement blaming the US for his own murder. 
 
 Foley has been missing in Syria since November 2012, where he went to report on the bloody struggle to overthrow dictator Bashar al-Assad. He was initially thought to have been captured by forces loyal to the Assad regime. 
 
 
 
 Foley’s mother later released a statement saying her son gave his life to expose the suffering of the Syrian people. Diane Foley asked his kidnappers to release their other captives. 
 
 
 
 “He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person,” she said. 
 
 
 
 “We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world. 
 
 “We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.” 
 
 YouTube took down the gruesome video, but not before it sparked a debate on social media about the ethics of sharing it. 
 
 Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, said the video appeared to be genuine, and that the killer could well be a Briton. 
 
 He said that although further analysis would need to be carried out, the man “on the face of it appears to have been a British person” and that this would not be surprising given the “significant number” of Britons fighting with Isis in Syria and Iraq. 
 
 Screengrab from the ISIS video showing the execution of James Foley Photograph: Youtube 
 
 Foley, 40, a former Stars and Stripes reporter, was captured in November 2012 near the Syrian town of Taftanaz. It was not his first detention while reporting: in 2011, he was taken while reporting on the uprising against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi’s forces ultimately released him after six weeks in captivity. 
 
 A friend of Foley’s and his fellow captive in Libya, journalist Clare Morgana Gillis, wrote in a 2013 essay that captivity was “the state most violently opposite his nature.” Gillis described Foley as gentle, friendly, courageous and impatient with “anything that slows his forward momentum.” 
 
 
 
 In a January 2013 interview with local television news near her Rochester, New Hampshire home, Foley’s mother Diane said her son was “passionate about covering the story in Syria, passionate about the people there.” 
 
 Caitlin Hayden, the spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said US intelligence was working to determine the authenticity of the video. 
 
 
 
 “If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” Hayden said in a statement. 
 
 A day after Obama declared that Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by US warplanes had broken Isis’ hold on the critical Mosul Dam, US Central Command announced two strikes near it on Monday, to “further expand control of the area.” One strike was said to have destroyed an Isis checkpoint while the other was “not successful.” 
 
 Obama has offered no timeframe for the length of his campaign against Isis. The US military has bombed over 90 targets attributed to Isis, including vehicle convoys, mobile artillery and fixed positions, since 8 August. Most of the strikes have come in the past few days, near the dam. The other strikes have occurred either to blunt an Isis advance on the Kurdish regional capital of Irbil or to lift an Isis siege on Mount Sinjar, where it chased thousands of Iraqi Yazidis whom it threatened to kill unless they converted to Islam. The US considers the siege broken.
– Many Roman Catholics saw journalist James Foley—who was kidnapped, tortured, and beheaded by ISIS—as a symbol of enduring faith under horrible circumstances. Then it came out that he had converted to Islam in captivity. Now what? "The answer is we can’t assess it," says a Jesuit preist who calls Foley "a good and holy man" but casts doubt on his conversion. "We cannot look at what is in someone’s soul." Foley's story is further complicated by his own apparent confusion, the New York Times reports. First kidnapped in Libya in 2011, Foley says he prayed with Muslim cellmates who opposed the Gadhafi government. After washing himself, he was told he had converted. "So, from then on out, I prayed with them five times a day," he says in a YouTube video. "But it was difficult. I was thinking, 'Jesus, am I praying to Allah? Am I violating my belief in you?'" he adds. "I don’t have an answer to that. I just know that I was authentically with them, and I was authentically praying to Jesus." Kidnapped again in Syria in 2012, he converted to Islam in captivity and appeared sincere about it, freed hostages say. But people are debating whether Foley, once an altar boy in a Catholic family, converted for himself or his captors (as this GetReligion article attests). "I believe, much like in Libya, Jim 'converted' for the purpose of surviving," says one of his brothers. Pope Francis has apparently called Foley a martyr and says other Christian martyrs are being "tortured, massacred" today, ANSA reports. Yet Foley's mother, a Eucharistic minister, seems unsure: "Only God and Jim know what was going on in his heart," she says.