A man has appeared before an Irish court charged with assaulting a woman who was stabbed as she prayed the rosary in a Catholic church in County Waterford.
The attack happened at Holy Cross Church in Tramore, southeast Ireland, on the morning of July 21. The woman, in her fifties, was set upon shortly before 10am Mass with between 50 and 60 people present, according to the parish.
She was taken to University Hospital Waterford with injuries described by Irish police as serious but not life-threatening. Officers seized a knife and arrested a man at a nearby house within minutes.
Niall Cummins, 36, with an address in Tramore, was charged with assault causing harm under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and with possession of a bladed weapon. He appeared before Waterford District Court on July 22.
Judge John Cheatle remanded him in custody and ordered a psychological assessment. Cummins had no legal representation because of a strike by Irish defence solicitors over legal aid rates, and is due back before the court by video link on July 28.
Parish priest Richard O’Halloran said the attack appeared random and praised the reaction of those present. “It has been a very shocking event,” he said.
The Diocese of Waterford and Lismore said it was “deeply shocked by a violent incident” and commended parishioners who went to the woman’s aid. It asked the faithful to pray for her recovery.
Conor McGuinness, a Sinn Féin member of the Irish parliament, said the assault had taken place where people “should expect to feel safe”. Police appealed for anyone in the Summerhill area between 9.15am and 10.15am to come forward.
The injured woman, described locally as a member of a Legion of Mary prayer group that meets before morning Mass, has not been named by Irish media. LifeSiteNews reported, citing an unnamed source, that she is a pro-life campaigner. Police have not indicated any motive.
Within minutes of the attack, social media accounts began demanding to know whether the assailant was a foreigner. Both the accused and the injured woman are local to the town and are not believed to have known each other.
Ireland and Britain have seen a run of knife attacks that has mobilised an anti-immigration movement in both countries, most recently after rioting in Belfast in June.
Attacks on Christian sites and worshippers across the continent have also risen. The Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe recorded 40 anti-Christian hate crimes in June, including three cases of physical violence.
