In the wake of the violent attack on a priest and his brother during Holy Mass in the Berlin church of St. Joseph, a security service is to be set up there starting next Sunday. This is reported by the “Catholic News Agency” (KNA) with reference to the press spokesman of the diocese of Berlin, Stefan Förner. This should make clear that the archdiocese takes the incident seriously, said Förner.According to Förner, a security concept for the church already exists – but no security service was present during the attack last Sunday. The brother of the clergyman who was knocked down by an unknown person during the sermon, Mr. Holger Doetsch, had previously called for a security service in the churches in an interview with the newspaper Tagespost. The priest in question is an employee of the Apostolic Nunciature.When asked about his condition, Doetsch replied to the Tagespost: “Not good, you take that seriously. It has become deeply engraved in my mind.I was remembering the incidents of Taizé and the attack on Brother Roger and the murder of the French priest Jacques Hamel. According to his perception, it was “a planned attack on the church. And this must have consequences”.
As KNA further reports, the concern of the archdiocese of Berlin is the health of the priest concerned, his brother and the altar girl standing directly next to him, as well as the attendant faithful.”The visible physical consequences are – thank God – not serious for the attacked men, the uncertainty on the other hand, which the aggressor caused, will remain”, so diocese speaker Förner.St. Joseph’s Church is currently used as a replacement for St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, which is currently under reconstruction. Clergymen of the Pope’s embassy and the military bishop’s office regularly celebrate services in the Berlin Cathedral.