<div align="justify">In an apparent racist attack, a Catholic priest of Indian heritage was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne by a man who called him unqualified to say mass as he was an Indian.<br /><br />A man armed with a knife approached Tomy Kalathoor Mathew, 48, in the church foyer moments before the Italian- language mass at St Matthew's Parish in Fawkner yesterday.<br /><br />It's believed that the offender told the priest that because he was Indian, he must be a Hindu or a Muslim and therefore unqualified to say mass, local media reported.<br /><br />"There was some shouting and a lot of movement at the back of the church and then I saw Father Tommy coming to approach me. He waved me over and asked me if I could look at his neck because he said 'I've just been stabbed'," said Melina, one of the parishioners.<br /><br />A 72-year-old man from Fawkner was arrested and charged with intentionally and recklessly causing injury. He was bailed to appear in Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court on June 13.<br /><br />"At this stage, we believe the incident is isolated. There's nothing to suggest he's a danger to anyone else," Detective Senior Constable Rhiannon Norton told reporters.<br /><br />Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne spokesman Shane Healy described the incident as "appalling".<br /><br />"People should never be treated like this. This fellow is doing wonderful work for his parishioners and this is really a blight on the great work that many, many Catholic priests are doing," he said.<br /><br />Father Tomy Mathew suffered minor upper-body injuries and remains in a stable condition at The Northern Hospital. Vicar General Monsignor Greg Bennet said the priest was doing well in the hospital and wanted to get back to work soon.</div>
<div align="justify">In an apparent racist attack, a Catholic priest of Indian heritage was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne by a man who called him unqualified to say mass as he was an Indian.<br /><br />A man armed with a knife approached Tomy Kalathoor Mathew, 48, in the church foyer moments before the Italian- language mass at St Matthew's Parish in Fawkner yesterday.<br /><br />It's believed that the offender told the priest that because he was Indian, he must be a Hindu or a Muslim and therefore unqualified to say mass, local media reported.<br /><br />"There was some shouting and a lot of movement at the back of the church and then I saw Father Tommy coming to approach me. He waved me over and asked me if I could look at his neck because he said 'I've just been stabbed'," said Melina, one of the parishioners.<br /><br />A 72-year-old man from Fawkner was arrested and charged with intentionally and recklessly causing injury. He was bailed to appear in Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court on June 13.<br /><br />"At this stage, we believe the incident is isolated. There's nothing to suggest he's a danger to anyone else," Detective Senior Constable Rhiannon Norton told reporters.<br /><br />Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne spokesman Shane Healy described the incident as "appalling".<br /><br />"People should never be treated like this. This fellow is doing wonderful work for his parishioners and this is really a blight on the great work that many, many Catholic priests are doing," he said.<br /><br />Father Tomy Mathew suffered minor upper-body injuries and remains in a stable condition at The Northern Hospital. Vicar General Monsignor Greg Bennet said the priest was doing well in the hospital and wanted to get back to work soon.</div>