Polish priest wounded in stabbing returns to altar with message of forgiveness
Father Adrian Mantykiewicz celebrated Mass at a Benedictine abbey in Jaroslaw two days after a knife attack there that killed Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz and wounded several others. In his homily, Mantykiewicz said he forgave the attacker and urged people to pray for his conversion. He warned against blaming Ukrainians collectively for the suspect’s actions and called for respect, support and solidarity between Poles and Ukrainians. The Sept. 24 attack left Father Marek Pienkowski hospitalized in serious but stable condition; Mantykiewicz was treated and released the same day.
2 days ago
Two days after a stabbing at a Benedictine abbey in Jarosław, Poland, injured priest Father Adrian Mantykiewicz returned to celebrate Mass and urged forgiveness, prayer for the attacker, and protection against hostility toward Ukrainians. The Sept. 24 attack killed one priest and injured four other people. 1 3
Mantykiewicz celebrated the first Mass at the abbey after the attack on Sept. 26, still visibly bruised and wearing a head bandage. In his homily, he said he forgave the attacker and asked the congregation to pray for him and for his conversion. 1 3
He said the community should answer the violence with “goodness, love, and forgiveness,” and asked people to pray for the deceased priest, Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz; for Father Marek Pienkowski, who remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition; and for Mantykiewicz’s recovery. 1 3
The suspect is a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen. Mantykiewicz stressed that responsibility belonged to the individual who committed the attack, not to Ukrainians as a people, and urged listeners to respond with care and respect rather than hostility. 1 3
He recalled that the abbey had helped people fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, welcoming those in need of shelter and support. He asked that the community’s past efforts not be undone by blaming an entire nation for one person’s actions. 1
Five people were stabbed at the abbey on Sept. 24. Zbojniewicz died from his injuries; Mantykiewicz was treated and released from hospital the same day, while Pienkowski remained hospitalized. 1 3
Prosecutors charged the suspect, identified as Ihor M., with murder, attempted murder, and causing grievous bodily harm. A court ordered him detained for three months in a secure hospital ward; prosecutors said acute psychotic symptoms currently prevent him from participating in legal proceedings, and they have not publicly established a motive. 1
Funeral rites for Zbojniewicz, who was 67 and had been a priest for 40 years, were scheduled to begin in Jarosław on Sept. 28, with his funeral Mass and burial planned for the following day in his home village. 1*
Christian forgiveness counters violence and collective blame through reconciliation
Christian forgiveness can interrupt the cycle of violence and make reconciliation possible—but it must not be confused with forgetting, excusing wrongdoing, or blaming whole communities.
Jesus calls both the injured and the offender toward reconciliation: the injured person is urged to forgive from the heart, while the person who caused harm must seek to repair the relationship. Forgiveness begins with a changed heart and a sincere effort to make amends.
This is not a demand that victims suppress grief or that society abandon justice. The Church teaches that victims have a right to truth and justice, and that reconciliation after conflict requires honestly establishing responsibility. Nor may anyone impose “social forgiveness” on victims or declare reconciliation by decree; personal forgiveness must be freely given, and painful memories cannot simply be erased.
Forgiveness counters collective blame by making room for truth, repentance, and responsibility without treating an entire people as guilty for the acts of particular persons. The Church’s reflection on past wrongs calls for careful discernment, suitable reparation, and dialogue, while warning against perpetuating negative images of others.
Reconciliation is therefore neither vengeance nor a shortcut around accountability. It is a difficult process in which forgiveness can loosen the grip of hatred, and justice and truthful remembrance help build a peace that lasts.