Eyewitnesses to Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win’s murder recount the priest’s response when ordered by his killers to kneel.
By Andrés Henríquez, Catholic News Agency
Two women who witnessed the murder of Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win in Myanmar last week recounted how the priest “fearlessly confronted” the armed men who took his life.
In a statement to the pontifical news agency Fides, the two witnesses — who are teachers and parish workers at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in the village of Kangyi Taw — said that when some 10 militiamen, “clearly intoxicated or under the influence of drugs,” encountered Father Ye Naing Win, they ordered him to kneel.
“I only kneel before God,” the priest calmly replied to the leader of the armed men. He then proceeded to ask them: “What can I do for you? Is there something we can talk about?”
Priest stabbed to death by 10 militiamen
Immediately one of the men struck Father Ye Naing Win from behind with a dagger that was still in its sheath. However, with this blow he also accidentally hit the leader of the armed group. Already in a drunken rage and because of the answer given to him by the priest, the leader pulled out a knife and began to stab him repeatedly.
Father Ye Naing Win endured the attack silently, “like a lamb led to the slaughter,” the witnesses said.
“Donald did not utter a word or a moan. He suffered the senseless violence without reacting, like an innocent man,” Fides stated. “The other men stood by and watched the murder being committed.”
Once the attack was over “the group of men left the scene,” the pontifical agency added.
The villagers, “amid shock and tears,” retrieved the priest’s body, washed it, and treated it with honor and respect.
The testimony of both women, Fides reported, was recorded and sent to Myanmar’s National Unity Government in exile, which said it was “deeply saddened by the murder of the parish priest Donald Martin of Mandalay” and pledged to “punish the perpetrators of the murder according to the law.”
The People’s Defense Forces of Shwebo district announced the arrest of 10 suspects, who they say belong to “a local defense group.”
“As it is known they belong to armed forces, the National Unity Government and the Ministry of Defense will take legal action by applying the law provided for the military,” the authorities of the Asian country explained.
The National Unity Government said it “strongly condemns attacks against civilians, including religious leaders, by any organization.”
Featured image: A woman is pictured in a file photo praying at St. Anthony Church in Yangon, Myanmar. According to a report released by Aid to the Church in Need, Christian persecution is on the rise globally, including in Myanmar, where Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win was murdered on Feb. 14, 2024. (OSV News photo/Jorge Silva, Reuters)
