MUMBAI, India – A priest in Singapore was stabbed by a knife-wielding man during Mass on Saturday evening.
Father Christopher Lee, 57, is the parish priest of St Joseph’s Church, and is in stable condition. The 37-year-old attacker was restrained by parishioners and later arrested.
“This incident has not only grievously injured a religious leader in a place of worship, but has sown fear in the community,” said Cardinal William Goh, the Archbishop of Singapore.
Pope Francis visited Singapore during his Asian pastoral trip in September.
A spokesperson from the Communications Office of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore said Lee is “well-loved by the parishioners and known for being kind and compassionate to everyone.”
“He is a dedicated pastor to his flock, and an integral part of the parish community. He also serves as a member of the Archdiocesan Liturgy Commission and is school chaplain for De La Salle School,” the spokesperson told Crux.
Police said the attacker has past antecedents “for serious hurt and misuse of drugs offences.”
“Based on the preliminary investigations, the man is believed to have acted alone and the police do not suspect that this is an act of terrorism, for now. The public is urged to remain calm and refrain from speculation as investigations are ongoing to ascertain the motive behind this incident,” the police said.
In a statement, Goh said after this attack, “it is timely for us to reflect on the safety and security of our churches, especially during worship.”
“The truth is we should not be overly surprised that this incident happened in our most sacred space,” the cardinal said.
“A person could attack a religious leader, or anyone for that matter, in a church for various reasons. This person could be a terrorist, a fanatic, someone who is unhappy with the church or a religious leader, or someone who is mentally or emotionally unwell,” he continued.
“Although we cannot prevent every incident of this nature from taking place, we must, as a community, be both mentally and operationally ready to guard against them, and mitigate the consequences when they do happen,” he said.
Goh said moving forward, the archdiocese will revisit the security protocols already in place in its parishes.
“However, we must also recognise that our churches are public spaces. Going overboard with security measures may discourage the faithful from coming to worship because of the hassle they have to go through. Overreacting would show a lack of courage, allowing evil to triumph by controlling our lives,” the cardinal said.
“Furthermore, the presence of too much security may hinder our priests from ministering to their flock,” he added.
“Religious leaders must recognise that as public figures, we bear a certain amount of risk. While we should not take security lightly, we must minister to our flock courageously and without fear. We firmly believe God is in charge of our lives, and that He will transform evil to good. We cannot allow evil to paralyse the proclamation of the Gospel,” Goh said.
The cardinal noted terrible things happen “because of sin and its consequences.”
“Indeed, such events show us that society is declining in its moral values; there is no sense of right or wrong, even in a sacred space. This shows us there are many troubled, confused, and hurting people in the world. However, we know that at the end of the day, evil will not triumph. We see this in the examples of the martyrs of the Church,” he said.
“As Church, we need even more to proclaim the Gospel of mercy, compassion, and reconciliation so we can enlighten people in the truth, heal them of their brokenness, assuage their fear and pain, and help them find life and true love. Let us not be paralysed with fear but continue to witness to our faith, placing ourselves in the hands of God,” Goh said.
