By Joseph Masilamany
Parishioners of St Joseph’s Cathedral in the Bukit Timah district were appalled as a man walked up to the sanctuary, knife in hand, and stabbed Fr Christopher Lee as he celebrated the Saturday sunset Mass.
The suspect, a 37-year-old Singaporean Sinhalese man with a history of serious hurt and drug-related offences, was disarmed by members of the congregation and subsequently arrested by police. Based on preliminary investigations, police believe the suspect acted alone and that the attack was not an act of terrorism.
Singapore’s Inter-Religious Organisation has since condemned the incident, while Prime Minister Lawrence Wong called for calm, saying: “Violence has no place in the country,” urging, “everyone to support one another in the spirit of harmony and resilience.”
He also said on a social media post: “I am very shocked and saddened to hear that a priest, Father Christopher Lee, was stabbed at St Joseph’s Church during Mass. We pray for his full and speedy recovery. Most of all, we must uphold the safety and sanctity of our places of worship, places where people seek peace, solace, and community.”
Channel News Asia reported that Sunday Masses were held as usual today under the watchful eyes of police patrol cars and police officers who were present in the vicinity of the church.
Speaking to AsiaNews, a Singaporean Catholic, Stella Hendricks, said that she was shocked and appalled when she heard of the incident. She noted that Singapore is known to be among the safest cities in the world and no one ever expected this to happen in a church, which is also supposed to be a safer place than the streets outside.
“An incident like this is never known to have happened before in any place of worship here in Singapore as the government has always encouraged peaceful inter-religious interactions and respect for one another’s culture, religion, and age-old traditions practised by multicultural communities.”
Hendricks, who worships at the nearby Mary, Star of the Sea parish church, said that she is glad that the incident was “not more serious than this” and that the injured priest is recuperating well after surgery.
With 395,000 Catholics, Singapore has a vibrant Catholic community and is one of the most dynamic Christian populations in Southeast Asia.
As of June 2023, Singapore’s population stood at 5.92 million citizens, including Chinese, Malays, and Indians. Of these 5.92 million people, 4.15 million are residents, consisting of 3.61 million citizens and 540,000 permanent residents. The remaining 1.77 million people living in Singapore are classed as non-residents, mainly resident workers without political rights who are routinely excluded from official demographic statistics. – Asia News
