From the Catholic Herald:
Fr Jos Vanderlee, 65, was rushed to hospital following the attack, but his condition is not thought to be critical
A priest in Belgium was stabbed, after letting an asylum seeker into his home to use his shower, according to reports.
Fr Jos Vanderlee, 65, who has been named locally as the victim of the attack, was rushed to hospital following the attack, which happened at around 2.40pm local time. His condition is not thought to be critical.
Prosecutors have said the attack, which occurred in Lanaken, is not related to terrorism and police are looking for witnesses.
Fr Vanderlee celebrated his 40th anniversary as a priest in July and is responsible for eight local parishes.
The assailant went to the priest’s house and asked if he could use his shower, stating that he planned to apply for asylum in the country, according to a report in Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad.
After being allowed on the premises, the suspect demanded money from Fr Vanderlee, lunging at him and injuring the priest’s hands. He then fled the scene.
The Mayor of Lanaken, Marino Keulen, said: “Despite the fact that we are shocked, we must stress that this incident can not be linked to terrorist acts at this stage of the investigation.”
It doesn’t always have to be about terrorism. Sometimes it’s just about asylum seeker committing crimes.
I haven’t found any account of this attack that names the attacker. He is uniformly called an “asylum seeker”. Maybe they don’t know it.
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Interesting that he injured the priest’s hands, since the priests’ hands are anointed to offer sacrifice to God.
Of course, stabbing victims often sustain injuries to the hands as defensive wounds, but no doubt the devil is happy when a priest’s hands are injured.
I am sure those would be seen as defensive wounds. He may not have been an asylum seeker at all of course, that could have been a story designed to elicit sympathy from a priest who wants to imitate Christ.
Several years ago in my hometown, a holy, octogenarian priest opened the door for a homeless man who requested confession. This man promptly beat Father nearly to death. Nevertheless, following Father’s hospitalization and recovery, it took many many stern conversations from peers and flock who loved him to convince Father he could validly listen to confessions through the wrought iron security door the parish installed on his door. Yet, I’m not sure Father ever really stopped opening the door. He continued to take risks with his safety.
Reverend Fathers – please be cautious. I understand and respect that you want to feed all the lost sheep. But some of these lambs are wolves in disguise.
Let me guess: was he baptist?
This reminds me rather much of the scene involving Bishop Myriel and Jean Valjean — except instead of discreetly stealing silver candlesticks in the dead of night, the guest apparently attempts to demand money from his gracious host at knifepoint.
Was who baptist? Did you mean Baptist?
I wonder if the reason the “asylum seeker” wasn’t named is because we would recognise his religion from his name?
Norah,
The latest report I’ve seen (with Father safely home from hospital, but rather shaken by his experience) report the slasher is still on the lam – though with some strangely assured (while entirely unexplained) presentation that he ‘was calling himself an asylum-seeker’ as if it were unlikely he really was. Presumably Father is the source of all info about him (unless there are other unnamed witnesses – which, of course, there could be, whether a housekeeper, or some by-passer).