The priest was attacked while praying in a cathedral pew.
Newsroom (07/28/2021 12:18 PM, Gaudium Press) – The incident occurred at St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday morning. Police are investigating.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh explained that the priest was sitting alone, praying in a pew in the church, when a man approached, asking if he was a priest. Upon confirming, the man tried to hit him on the head with a bottle and then chased him to the back of the cathedral. The bottle fell to the ground and broke. The man continued to use it in his assault.
The priest confronted his attacker and managed to defend himself with a chair before exiting the cathedral. He escaped unharmed.
The archdiocese has requested that any information in this regard be forwarded to the police.
Hate crimes against religious or priests seem to be on the rise. As the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland stated in 2019, Catholics are been “disproportionately targeted,” and according to government reports, the Catholic religion is the target of the majority of the assaults.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
