A bishop who was allegedly stabbed by a teenager during a livestreamed sermon has condemned the “political” decision to issue an order to remove videos of the incident from social media.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was preaching at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, south-west Sydney, on April 15 when a 16-year-old boy walked up to the altar and allegedly stabbed him repeatedly.
The boy is accused of committing a terrorist act.
Following the incident, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant X, formally known as Twitter, and Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, ordered the images to be removed.
Meta complied with the order, but X objected, causing Ms. Inman-Grant to take the matter to federal court.
Judge Geoffrey Kennett issued an interim injunction forcing X to hide all messages containing the images until a full hearing on May 10.
But in a tightly produced 11-minute video posted online Thursday, the bishop said the alleged attack on him should not be used for political purposes and that he supports freedom of speech and religion, is against censorship and that the videos should stay.
“I recognize the Australian Government’s desire to have the videos removed due to their graphic nature. I do not condone any act of terrorism or violence,” Bishop Emmanuel said over images of him walking along Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.
Elon Musk-owned social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, was ordered by the Federal Court on Monday evening to block all users worldwide from viewing the images. The photo shows Mr. Musk
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel (photo right) has advocated that the images of the alleged stabbing remain online
Via Dolorosa is the path that Jesus had to walk while carrying a cross on the way to his crucifixion. On the same procession route, Bishop Emmanuel is seen carrying a cross, accompanied by followers.
“But given our God-given rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I am not opposed to allowing the videos to remain on social media,” the bishop said in a voiceover.
He added that it would be “of great importance if people use the attack on me to serve their own political interests and control freedom of expression.”
X’s Australian lawyers detailed a statement from Bishop Emmanuel consenting to the content being shared and remaining online.
“There has recently been an affidavit … from the bishop, the victim of the attack, in which he states that he strongly believes that the material should be available,” defense attorney Marcus Hoyne told the court during a brief hearing on Wednesday Federal Court.
The photo shows parish priest Father Isaac Royel (left) and Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel (right), both of whom suffered stab wounds
He said substantial material would be filed by his client challenging the orders and the “exorbitant jurisdiction” claimed by the online security watchdog.
Blocking clips of Bishop Emmanuel’s alleged stabbing from Australian web users was enough, X has argued.
The bishop used his YouTube video to forgive “whoever was behind this.”
“My prayers go out to the person who committed this act,” he said.
“I will always love this person… He is my son and he will always be my son, he will always be in my heart and in my prayers and in my thoughts.”
He also said he prayed for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Israel and Palestine.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel (pictured) was preaching at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, south-west Sydney, on April 15 when a 16-year-old boy walked up to the altar and allegedly stabbed him repeatedly
Following the Bishop’s stabbing, crowds began rioting outside Wakeley Church while around 2,000 people were present, injuring dozens of police officers.
On Monday, NSW Police began circulating images of people wanted for questioning. Five people have now been charged with crimes.
On Wednesday, more than 400 officers were involved in large-scale searches in Sydney and Goulburn as part of a counter-terrorism investigation linked to the religious leader’s stabbing.
Police arrested five teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, who were later charged with terrorist offences.