Forensic police are seen at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley, Australia, on April 16, 2024. Hundreds clashed with police in western Sydney on April 15 after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed at the alter during … […]
City skyline in Sydney, Australia. / Irina Sokolovskaya/Shutterstock
CNA Newsroom, Apr 15, 2024 / 07:30 am (CNA).
Australian police have confirmed another stabbing incident in Sydney after shocking video footage of a man apparently attacking a … […]
Pope Francis speaks at the Vatican’s Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Sydney, Australia, Apr 13, 2024 / 12:14 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis has reacted with deep sorrow at the news from Australia on Saturday, where a 40-year-old man, armed with a large knife, killed six people in a Sydney shopping center, injuring several others, including a nine-month-old child.
“Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the violent attack in Sydney, and he sends the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all affected by this senseless tragedy, especially those who are now mourning the loss of a loved one,” read a telegram sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, sent on behalf of the Pope.
The Holy Father offered prayers for the deceased, the wounded, and the first responders, invoking divine blessings of consolation and strength for the nation.
Daniel Ang, Director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelization at the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, reached out via X (formerly Twitter) to express solidarity and announce spiritual support: “We join in prayer for the victims & families affected by the horrific events at Bondi Junction today. The three Sunday Masses at the Catholic Parish of Bondi tomorrow will be offered for the repose of the souls that have passed away and all those others affected by these events.”
The bloody attack occurred in the busy Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center on April 13, the first day of the school holidays — a time when many families were out, adding to the shock and impact of the event.
Five victims died at the scene, while another person succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. Eight others remain hospitalized, some in critical condition, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The attacker, who was known to the police but remains unidentified, was shot and killed by a policewoman at the scene. According to police, the man allegedly lunged at the officer before he was fatally shot.
Authorities have cautioned against speculation about the attacker’s motives, emphasizing that early indications suggest the incident was not terrorism-related. Police Commissioner Karen Webb said while the motive was unclear, evidence indicated the attack was not related to terrorism: “There’s no suggestion anyone was targeted but that could change.”
The incident has shocked the nation. The acting Premier of New South Wales, Penny Sharpe, told journalists the attack was “beyond distressing” and vowed as much information as possible would be shared with the public.
Investigations are ongoing, with the Australian Federal Police collaborating with local authorities to unravel the full circumstances of the attack.
Australia was previously rocked by a terror attack in Sydney almost ten years ago. The 2014 Lindt Café siege saw a lone jihadist gunman hold eighteen hostages, leading to three deaths, including the gunman.
March 17, 2016. Cardinal George Pell speaks with CNA at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on March 17, 2016. / null
Sydney, Australia, Mar 8, 2022 / 06:05 am (CNA).
People who took part in a “pile-on” against Cardinal George Pell are refusing to reconsider the case almost two years after the Australian Church leader’s acquittal, a speaker said on Tuesday.
Gerard Henderson, the author of “Cardinal Pell, The Media Pile-on and Collective Guilt,” told an audience in Sydney, Australia, on March 8 that this amounted to “intellectual cowardice” and, in some cases, “censorship.”
He argued that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia’s national broadcaster, and many of the country’s newspapers had overlooked critical accounts of the Pell trial and its coverage by the media.
“In short, members of the Pell pile-on will not engage in any reconsideration of the Pell case. In my view, that’s intellectual cowardice. In certain circumstances, it’s censorship,” he said.
Henderson was one of three speakers at the event “Lessons From the Pell Case – Two Years After the High Court Decision,” organized by the Sydney Institute, a current affairs forum.
Australia’s High Court unanimously overturned Pell’s conviction for five counts of alleged sexual abuse on April 7, 2020. The cardinal was released after more than 13 months of imprisonment and returned to Rome, where he had served as the Vatican’s economy czar.
Monica Doumit, the director of public affairs and engagement of the Archdiocese of Sydney, recalled that she was working for the archdiocese’s communications team when allegations against the cardinal were aired on an Australian television program.
Doumit, a columnist with The Catholic Weekly, a national Catholic newspaper, said that after the broadcast, she spoke over the phone to the cardinal, who was in Rome. As she returned home in the early hours, she received a call from a colleague at Pell’s behest. The caller explained that the cardinal was “really worried” about Doumit and wanted someone to check that she was OK.
“That’s the measure of the man we’re speaking about tonight,” she said. “And the reason I want to tell it is because when I look back on this, that’s actually the most important aspect of this for me, that first and foremost we’re talking about a man who cares deeply about other people.”
Doumit said that, two years on, many questions about the case remain unanswered. But she expressed hope that an ongoing Vatican finance trial would reveal why the Vatican sent more than $2 million to Australia during the Pell trial.
She said that Cardinal Angelo Becciu, one of the defendants, was connected to the transfer of funds from the Vatican to the tech company Neustar in Melbourne.
“So far witnesses at the trial have insisted that the money was sent to the Catholic bishops in Australia for the cardinal’s defense, but it’s demonstrably untrue,” she said. “We know the money went to Neustar.”
She noted that in a recent interview Pell challenged Becciu, who rejects all allegations of wrongdoing, to explain why the funds were transferred.
“Becciu has said he will not answer because to do so would be beneath the dignity of cardinals,” she said.
The third speaker, Father Frank Brennan, S.J., the author of “Observations on The Pell Proceedings,” described the proceedings against Pell as a “farce.”
Brennan, a human rights lawyer, said: “When we go with the mob with the highest level of judiciary, we forfeit the rule of law. That’s why the High Court majority, seven to nil, was so essential to restore the rule of law, for the good of bonafide complainants, for the good of victims, and for the good of citizens including those like Citizen Pell.”
© Catholic World Report