In Chile, priest is stabbed by homeless man who he used to help

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – A priest was attacked and stabbed by a homeless man on Nov. 24 in Santiago, as he was arriving to the rectory late at night. The aggressor was identified and detained by the police on Nov. 26.

Spanish-born Father Eduardo Rodríguez Yunta, 67, was coming back from an adoration of the blessed sacrament in another parish and noticed that somebody was inside his house, which is connected to the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Quilicura, which is in the metropolitan area of Santiago.

When he got into the rectory, Rodríguez saw a homeless man who used to ask for help in the parish. The invader demanded money from the priest and stabbed him at least two times, hitting his shoulder and his stomach. Before escaping, the criminal took a computer, a cell phone and some cash.

The priest was taken to the hospital of the Catholic University of Santiago, where he has taught different classes and has been part of ethics committees over the years. His condition was presented by the doctors as “serious, although without risks to his life.”

“The knife failed to attain one of his kidneys by only one millimeter,” a member of the parish who preferred to remain anonymous told Crux.

Considered to be a highly benevolent and charitable person by the members of his parish, Rodríguez at first declined to press charges against the attacker, but his assistants in the parish ended up persuading him to do so in order to avoid new occurrences.

The Chilean police had been investigating the case since then and finally detained the suspect two days after the crime. He is a 30-year-old homeless man with a long criminal record, having been previously detained for felonies including robbery, theft, drug possession, and carrying a weapon.

On Nov. 27, the Archdiocese of Santiago announced that Rodríguez left the hospital on the previous day and was sent to a home in order to rest and complete his recovery.

“We talked to him. He is feeling well and is already trying to organize his future activities. He took it in stride and is excited to go back to work,” the parish member said.

“The community of the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been permanently accompanying its vicar with its presence, prayers, and solidarity. As the Archdiocese of Santiago, we have been collaborating with them,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

The local Church also said the appropriate legal actions are being taken.

“As the Church of Santiago, we continue praying for the priest’s recovery, for its community and for all people facing vulnerability who everyday need our affection and attention,” the document read.

Rodríguez has been living and working in Chile for 27 years. He holds a PhD in Biology from the University of New York and a Master’s in Moral Theology from Saint John’s University.

His parish promotes a number of charitable works. It has a public refectory where up to 100 people can have a meal free of charge every Saturday.

“Father Rodríguez has a missionary zeal and is known for his solidarity. He always tries to help the people who go for him,” the parish member said.

The parish is located in an area that tends to be busy during the day but desolate during the night. In front of the church, a gas station used to house a number of drug addicts during the night. Rodríguez has always kept the doors open for everybody, so when people from that group approached him and asked for money or food, he usually helped them.

“About a year ago, one of them attacked and wounded a cleaning worker here,” the parish member recalled.

The person said the authorities have recently removed the group of drug addicts from the place, but violent acts continue to occur in the region.

“Many times, parishioners have been attacked and robbed. We complained about it with the authorities for months, but nothing has been done,” the parish member added.

Historically known as a safe country, an exception in South America, Chile has been seeing an unprecedented rise in the number of violent crimes over the past couple of years. The nation has become part of the route of international drug trafficking and criminal organizations from neighboring countries have installed branches there.

“A few months ago, attackers got out of a car and shot three people dead with machine guns in our region. Something like that used to be unthinkable in the past,” the person said.

Rodríguez, who has always lived alone in the parish, will now have to be accompanied for safety, the parish member said.