ASIA/SINGAPORE – Cardinal Goh after attack on priest: “We must not allow evil to paralyze the preaching of the Gospel”
Archdiocese of Singapore
Singapore (Agenzia Fides) – “This incident not only seriously injured a priest in a place of worship, but also sowed fear in the community,” said the Archbishop of Singapore, Cardinal William Goh, in a pastoral letter about the attack on the priest Christopher Lee, who during the vespers mass in the “St. Joseph’s Church” in Bukit Timah district on Saturday, November 9, when he was stabbed while distributing communion. The 57-year-old priest was admitted to the National University Hospital in Singapore and is currently in a stable condition. “He is recovering,” said the archbishop, who visited him in the hospital. The attacker, a 37-year-old Singaporean man with a previous conviction for violent drug-related offenses, was held by some worshipers at the church and later taken into police custody. Authorities said there was no terrorist motive for the incident.
Cardinal Goh called on the community to be “vigilant in the faith” and in this context spoke “about the security of our churches, especially during worship.” In order to offer the faithful a certain level of peace and security, the archdiocese set up the “Emergency Response Operations Council” in 2016, a special body that is in direct contact with the police and is supposed to coordinate security in the parishes. However, said Cardinal Goh, “we must also recognize that our churches are public spaces.” “Excessive security measures could prevent the faithful from coming to prayer,” and “the presence of too many security personnel may prevent our priests from caring for the flock of believers,” a task that the priests undertake “with courage and without fear ” fulfill. “We firmly believe that God is responsible for our lives and will transform evil into good. We must not allow evil to paralyze the proclamation of the Gospel,” notes the cardinal. “Therefore,” the pastoral letter says, we must “take care of one another” and “everyone who attends church must be vigilant and alert the person in charge if he notices anything unusual, a person who seems suspicious, or even a Item left unattended.”
“Why did God allow this?” says Cardinal Goh. “Our God is God incarnate,” he states. “Through his Son Jesus,” he writes, “he has come to share our wounds and our sorrows. He redeemed us not by force or power, but by humility, forgiveness, mercy and compassion.” Unpleasant or terrible events, he explains, “occur because of sin and its consequences. In fact, such events show us that society is moving away from moral values; there is no sense of right or wrong, even in a sacred space. There are many disturbed, confused and hurting people in the world. However, we know that evil will not win in the end. We see this in the examples of the martyrs of the Church.”
“As a church, we have an even greater need to proclaim the gospel of mercy, compassion and reconciliation so that we can enlighten people in the truth, heal them of their frailty, relieve their fear and pain and help them to do so “To find life and true love,” Cardinal Goh continued, “Let us not allow ourselves to be paralyzed by fear, but let us continue to bear witness to our faith by placing ourselves in God’s hands.” Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who can destroy soul and body in hell! (cf. Matthew 10:28).” “Our faith tells us that love is stronger than hate, life is stronger than death,” he notes. “This incident,” the pastoral letter concludes, “has strengthened our Church and brought our people closer together through faith and prayer. He also reminded us to remain vigilant and not to take the hard-won peace and security for granted. As a community, we will emerge from this incident more resilient than ever.”
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei also expressed their solidarity and promised to pray for Father Christopher Lee. The bishops call on the faithful to show “compassion, support and comfort to all those affected by the incident,” the President of the Bishops’ Conference and Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Julian Leow Beng Kim, said in a statement. On behalf of the bishops, the archbishop expressed the hope “that God may touch with mercy the hearts of those who cause division through violence and lead them to healing and redemption.” “At a time when we strive to promote peace, love and understanding in our society, such violence is particularly painful. “In these times of trial, however, we are reminded of our Christian calling to respond with peace, compassion and forgiveness,” write the bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
(PA) (Fides 11/11/2024)
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