A priest has been stabbed in what the Anglican church says is the latest in a string of attacks targeting priests or church property on the Cape Flats.
Father Leon van Rheede of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Heideveld was rushed to Groote Schuur Hospital last week after he was stabbed in the neck.
The attack, in the early hours of Monday morning, occurred in the rectory and sent shockwaves through the local community and the Anglican fraternity.
Bishop Christopher Gregorowski, the Bishop of Table Bay in the Diocese of Cape Town, said on Sunday the Anglican Church had held meetings with the police at the "very highest level" to address the safety of priests.
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'Incidents like this have increased and we have had to evacuate clergy' Gregorowski said the meetings followed several incidents in areas such as Blue Downs and Lavender Hill, which have been under siege from gang violence in recent months.
"We are concerned about the safety of clergy living in the communities which they serve because incidents like this have increased recently and we have had to evacuate clergy and find houses for them," he said.
"This is a sad situation because it lessens the availability of the priests to serve in their communities. Obviously this is a shocking incident and we are taking it very seriously.
"As soon he is well enough we will investigate the whole incident and decide what action to take to ensure his safety in the future."
The Cape Times has learnt that Van Rheede's congregation was given a detailed explanation about the incident at Sunday's morning service to dispel rumours which have abounded in the week since the stabbing.
'He could not speak when I first saw him' A congregation member, who did not wish to be identified, said: "They told us a man from his former congregation in Robertson in the Boland had come to the rectory on Sunday night, asking for a place to sleep.
"Father Van Rheede took him in, but sometime in the early hours of Monday morning the man asked for money.
"I don't know if he was looking for the money from the Sunday morning collection, but that is when the stabbing took place. There must have been some sort of struggle."
Gregorowski said initial investigations had confirmed that there had been no break-in at the Church of the Holy Spirit rectory.
Van Rheede was rushed to Groote Schuur Hospital. He was released on Friday but is yet to return to work.
Gregorowski said: "He could not speak when I first saw him as his doctor had cautioned him not to use his voice because the wound had been very close to his vocal chords."
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