A BISHOP who was knifed during a live-streamed Mass in a church in Sydney has broken his silence from hospital.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel shared a video statement on social media to tell his followers he has “forgiven” his attacker.
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Bishop Emmanuel spoke from his hospital bed in Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, where he has been recovering in the days since the attack.
He said: “I thank the Lord Jesus for what took place over the last couple of days.
“I am doing fine. I am recovering very quickly, we thank the Lord Jesus, so there is no need to be worried or concerned.”
Bishop Emmanuel added: “I have forgiven whoever has done this act, and I say to him, you are my son, I love you, and I will always pray for you.
“And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well in Jesus’ mighty name.
“I have nothing in my heart but love for everyone.”
Bishop Emmanuel also urged his followers to remain peaceful, and to stop the violence that had ensued over the last few days.
He said: “The Lord Jesus never told us to fight. The Lord Jesus never told us to retaliate.
“The Lord Jesus never said to us an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The Lord Jesus said never return evil with evil, but return evil with good.”
“I want you to always be calm. We need to always be law-abiding citizens. Above all, we are Christians, and we need to act like it.”
At least four people were stabbed just after 7pm on Monday night at Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church.
Father Isaac Royal, who was also injured in the attack, was released from hospital on Wednesday.
Bishop Emmanuel was reportedly stabbed multiple times by a hooded teenager and was quickly rushed to hospital.
Police swooped in to arrest the sixteen-year-old boy and held him at the church after an angry mob congregated outside the church and demanded revenge.
Within hours the cops labelled the incident a “terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism”.
Members of the teen’s family have now gone into hiding after a violent riot shook Sydney – with thousands attacking riot police, throwing projectiles, and chanting “cut off his fingers”.
Several officers were injured, with some being taken to hospital, and at least 20 police vehicles are reported to have been smashed.
It was also confirmed on Tuesday that the alleged teen “terrorist” had a finger severed in the aftermath of the attack when parishioners had pinned him down.
The teen’s parents claimed that they had seen no signs of radicalism in their son, according to the Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir.
Mr Kheir told Reuters: “He said other than him being rebellious to him… there were no signs. There were absolutely no signs to him.”
The Lakemba mosque in southwest Sydney is reported to have received firebomb threats during the riots on Monday night.
Two security guards have had to be employed to protect the mosque, which is one of the largest in Australia.
About 40 per cent of Australia’s 42,000-strong Assyrian population are said to live in the area around the Wakeley church.
Maria, whose family migrated from Iraq in 1993, told Reuters: “It’s very devastating, the Assyrian community have come from Iraq because they had been persecuted for being Christian.
“(Monday’s) attack on our faith is just an old reminder of what happened back home.”
The knife attack was the second to hit Sydney in just a few days, after killer Joel Cauchi, 40, unleashed horror at a mall near Bondi Beach on Saturday and killed six people including five women and one man.
Police responding to the scene said that it was “obvious” that the ruthless killer had targeted women.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added that “the gender breakdown is, of course, concerning”.
His dad, Andrew, told reporters when asked about why his son my have targeted women: “He wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain.”
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