The shocking attack on a priest during a livestream of his service ignited the righteous anger of his congregation.
Less than 48 hours after a mass stabbing attack at a mall in Sydney on Saturday, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, New South Wales — a Sydney suburb — was attacked in the middle of a livestreamed Sunday evening mass.
An unidentified male with a sharp object was seen walking up to the bishop and then stabbing him repeatedly.
The attacker was quickly mobbed by people at the church and brought to the ground. They held him down until police arrived.
Australia’s 9 News reported that a 15-year-old had been arrested in the attack.
In addition to the bishop, three others were injured, including a priest. Two people were treated at the scene and released, while Emmanuel and Father Isaac Royel were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, 9 News reported. They were listed in stable condition.
After New South Wales police took the suspect into custody at the church, a large crowd, which included members of the congregation, surrounded the building.
The enraged Christians chanted “Bring him out!”
Some people in the crowd threw objects at the police officers.
An angry crowd chants “bring him out” waiting for the suspect caught on livestream stabbing their Bishop Mar Mari inside their church. pic.twitter.com/zxRNb5tOTE
— Chriscoveries (@Chriscoveries) April 15, 2024
The Telegraph quoted one officer as saying, “The crowd was attacking us, throwing things and being aggressive as we tried to help their bishop. I said to them, ‘We are not your enemy.’”
Now, it wasn’t right for anyone in the crowd to throw things at the police officers, but their anger was understandable.
This person had just stabbed a beloved bishop in full view of an entire congregation as well as on a livestream.
Of course the crowd wanted to see him, and of course they wanted justice.
Christians were right to be furious over this.
Devout Christians have been under attack for years by left-wing institutions, as those same institutions have tried to push Christianity out of everything.
The attack on Emmanuel was just another symptom of the culture-wide demonization of Christians and Christian beliefs.
Do you think Christians are under attack?
When a culture tries to take God out of the world, this is what will happen — senseless and random violence, especially against Christians.
As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “the wages of sin is death.”
A culture steeped in sin will likewise be steeped in death.
