2925 Tetere parish priest robbed
austraLasia #2925
“Put your sword back in its scabbard”: Parish
Priest's unwelcome surprise!
TETERE (SI): 3 October 2011 -- The Feast of the
Archangels held a surprise for Fr Michael Lap SDB (aka Fr
Mikael Haruyama, his Japanese name) as he was returning from
the Feast day Mass in a village belonging to the Tetere
Parish, Solomon Islands. He was accosted by two drunken men
in front of the grotto in the parish compound where he
momentarily left his vehicle.
One of the men jumped into the truck and
started to drive it away. Fr Mikael saw the vehicle head off
and chased it. After some 20 minutes or so he had managed to
catch the vehicle and wrestle it back under his control.
There was more to come. The attackers then threw stones, one
of which hit him, causing an injury to the arm, and he
fainted for a short time. Some women who were nearby carried
him to the parish hall, and a Sister from the Good Samaritan
Hospital was called to attend to the injury - which was not
serious.
It turns out that the two assailants,
members of another Christian Church group (!) were upset
about a land issue, claiming that the land upon which the
Parish Church stands belongs to them. It is not the first
time this issue has been raised and simply reflects the
often frequent complications over customary land ownership
in Melanesian (and not only Melanesian) culture. The
claimants have been demanding compensation for land where
the church and the school are situated.
Naturally enough a first reaction of some
parishioners was to retaliate. On Sunday, the day after the
incident, Fr Mikael chose to read a brief Gospel passage to
the congregation after Mass: John 18:11, Jesus' words
to Peter: "Put your sword back in its scabbard".
