Church of Our Lady Queen Of Peace / Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // The Archdiocese of Singapore is requesting that the faithful pray and avoid speculation as police investigate a recent attack on a Catholic priest by a regular churchgoer who suffers from physical and mental disabilities.
According to a Feb. 10 article from AsiaNews, the attack occurred around 9:30 a.m. Feb. 9 when the suspect entered the church shouting. Father Cary Chan asked the 22-year-old man to follow him out of the church.
The man was upset because someone had taken his backpack out of the church, thinking it may have contained weapons, so Fr. Chan asked somebody to retrieve it. Once the man received his bag, he punched Fr. Chan in the face, knocking off his glasses and causing minor injuries.
“He gave me a hard blow to the head. I feel a bit shaken; I did not expect such a strong blow from him,” Fr. Chan said.
He added that the assailant is partially blind, so he may not have recognized Fr. Chan when he hit him.
A volunteer from the church’s security team restrained the attacker while waiting for the police to arrive. The police stated that they arrested a 22-year-old in connection with the attack and will send him to the Institute of Mental Health in Singapore for further assessment.
Fr. Chan went on to celebrate the following 11:30 a.m. Mass, stating, “I felt my head throbbing throughout the celebration but I didn’t want the parishioners to know.”
Fr. Chan is now in good health.
The Archdiocese also published a statement commenting on the incident, according to AsiaNews.
“We ask everyone to remain calm, to avoid speculation,” the archdiocese stated, “and to pray for the priest and the person involved in the accident.”
As CatholicVote reported in November, another attack took place in Singapore against a Catholic priest. Father Christopher Lee was stabbed while distributing Communion at a children’s Mass, and police arrested the suspect. They believe he was acting alone.
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