Stabbed Sydney bishop forgives attacker

SYDNEY: A Sydney bishop brutally stabbed during a livestreamed sermon said yesterday he is recovering and forgives his attacker, declaring: "You are my son."

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was slashed in the head and chest by a 16-year-old suspect on Monday, sparking a riot by followers of the Assyrian Christian church in western Sydney.

"I am doing fine, recovering very quickly," said the bishop of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley.

Emmanuel has an online following of almost 200,000, courting controversy with his criticism of Covid-19 vaccines, lockdowns and Islam.

"There is no need to be worried or concerned," the bishop said in a YouTube video released yesterday, with audio of his voice accompanied by a photo of him in vestments.

"I forgive whoever has done this act and I say to him: You are my son, I love you and I will always pray for you. And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well."

The teenage suspect was taken to a Sydney hospital after the attack.

Senior police said mid-week his treatment was expected to last for several days.

The bishop called for calm after the stabbing sparked angry scenes outside the church.

Hundreds of congregants and members of the community rushed to the site on the night of the attack.

"I want you to always be calm," the bishop said.

"We need to be always lawabiding citizens as well. We need to cooperate with the police directives whether it be at a state level or a federal level," he said.

"We should never forget that we are very blessed to be Aussies, but above all we are Christians and we need to act like it."

A western Sydney doctor who is in contact with the teenager's family told AFP they were in "shock" and "disbelief about the horrible action their son has done".

Jamal Rifi said the family had also been unnerved at how quickly the event had been labelled a "terrorist" act, without speaking to the boy or his family first.

The boy's mother told Rifi her son had anger and mental health issues.

New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said Thursday the teenager remained in hospital and authorities were yet to question him.