Priest injured in monastery attack in Poland urges not to blame all Ukrainians

Priest Adrian (who was injured in a knife attack at a monastery in Jarosław, Poland) urged believers not to shift the blame for the attackerʼs actions onto all Ukrainians.

This is reported by the Polish media Onet.

Two days after the attack, on September 26, Father Adrian celebrated Mass with his head and arm bandaged and his face bruised. He said he forgave the 31-year-old Ukrainian man Ihor M., who is suspected of the attack.

He asked the faithful to pray for the deceased Father Stanisław and Priest Marek, who is still in the hospital after the incident, as well as for the attacker himself, so that he "may receive the grace of conversion”.

Separately, the priest appealed to Poles not to blame Ukrainians because the attacker is a citizen of Ukraine.

"The evil was committed by a specific person who is responsible for his actions. Therefore, I ask you not to respond with evil for evil, but to respond with love, support, and understanding," he said.

Adrian also recalled that after the start of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainians came to the monastery and were helped by local residents. He called for this attitude to continue.

Ukrainian attack on monastery in Poland

On September 24, a 31-year-old Ukrainian man attacked people at a Benedictine nunsʼ monastery in the Polish city of Jarosław. The attack left a priest dead and four others injured.

Ukraineʼs Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar stated that the attack had no national basis. And eyewitnesses said that a few hours before the attack, the man asked the priest for financial assistance, but was refused.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident a “horrible crime”. He expressed condolences to the victim’s family and said that those responsible for the crime must be punished according to the law.

It turned out that the attacker had signs of mental illness. He was taken to the hospital, where he will serve three months in prison. The Ukrainian was informed of suspicion of murder, attempted murder, and causing bodily harm.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.