Priest injured in Polish monastery attack urges public not to blame Ukrainians

A Polish priest injured in a deadly knife attack at the Benedictine Sisters' Abbey in Jaroslaw, Poland on Sept. 24, urged people not to blame Ukrainians for the actions of the suspected attacker, Polish media reported on Sept. 26.

Father Adrian, who was wounded in the attack, returned to celebrate Mass two days later with bandages on his head and hand and bruising on his face, according to Polish outlet Onet.

"I would also like to ask you not to blame the nation from which the perpetrator comes," Adrian said during the service, according to Onet.

"The evil was committed by a specific person who is responsible for his actions," he said, urging those gathered to respond with "love, support, and understanding."

Adrian also said that he forgave the suspected attacker, 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen Ihor M., and asked worshippers to pray for him so that he "may receive the grace of conversion."

The priest recalled that Ukrainians came to the monastery following the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and received support from local residents. He urged the community to continue showing that support.

A Ukrainian man attacked five people with a knife at the Benedictine Sisters' Abbey in Jaroslaw on Sept. 24, killing Catholic priest Stanislaw Zbojnowicz and injuring four others.

Three of those attacked were members of the clergy.

Polish prosecutors have charged Ihor M. with murder, attempted murder, and causing grievous bodily harm. Psychiatric experts who examined him said he was experiencing symptoms of an acute psychotic disorder and was unable to participate in legal proceedings at the time of the examination, according to Polish media.

A Polish court subsequently ordered the suspect held in custody, Onet reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack on Sept. 24 as a "horrific crime," saying the perpetrator must "bear full responsibility in accordance with the law."

Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar also said he believed the attack was not nationally motivated.

The attack came amid growing anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland and strains in relations between Warsaw and Kyiv. Polish officials and church leaders have warned against assigning collective blame to Ukrainians over the attack.

On Sept. 25, Polish Bishop Krzysztof Zadarko also warned against blaming Ukrainians collectively for the attack during a press conference in Warsaw ahead of the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. “We don't know all the details,” he said, “but shifting the blame from one person onto an entire society, an entire ethnic or national group, is an abuse.”