The Sydney bishop who was stabbed while livestreaming a sermon 10 days ago has voiced his opinion about ongoing efforts to have the video pulled.
On Anzac Day, the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Western Sydney shared an 11-minute video of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel where he expressed “great concern” if footage of the attack was used to control free speech.
Bishop Emmanuel was allegedly knifed multiple times just after 7pm of April 15, while parish priest Father Isaac Royel was also injured.
A 16-year-old boy accused of the stabbing was later charged with committing a terrorist act.
After the incident, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant ordered X, formally known as Twitter, and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to remove the footage.
Meta complied with the order but X objected, leading Ms Inman-Grant to take the matter to the Federal Court.
An interim order was granted by Justice Geoffrey Kennett to force X to hide any posts showing the footage until a full hearing on May 10.
Speaking about the ongoing case, Bishop Emmanuel said freedom of speech and freedom to express religious belief was “God-given”.
“I do acknowledge the Australian government’s desire to have the videos removed because of their graphic nature,” he said
“However, noting our God-given right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I’m not opposed to the videos remaining on social media.
“I would be of great concern if people used the attack on me to serve their own political interest to control free speech.
“Without being exposed to any violence, any terrorist attack or being persecuted for just expressing their belief. The moment we oppress this very freedom of speech and religion, we are losing the very human identity and dignity as well.”
He said he did not want what had happened to be used “as a threat” to human freedom.
“We need to forgive one another, we need to pray for one another,” the Bishop said.
“We may disagree with one another but that does not make us enemies.”
Following the Bishop’s stabbing, crowds began to riot outside the Wakeley church as about 2000 people attended injuring dozens of police officers.
On Monday, NSW Police began circulating images of people wanted for questioning. Five people have since been charged with offences.
On Wednesday, more than 400 officers were involved in sweeping searches across 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 terrorism offences.