Norway: multiple murder in Kongsberg. Father Khiem Duc Nguyen (parish priest) to SIR, “the city is paralysed. We’ll pray for all the people involved”

“That tragic accident is paralysing our little town. Some of our parishioners knew the victims”. It is father Khiem Duc Nguyen, parish priest of St Barbara in Kongsberg, who describes like that to SIR the climate that can be breathed in the Norwegian town, where on Wednesday a 37-year-old Danish man killed 5 people and injured two, in just over half an hour, using a bow, some arrows and other weapons, before being stopped by the police. The Catholic parish of St Barbara has been just recently created, father Khiem tells: it was officially founded on 15th August 2021, after the diocese of Oslo bought a Methodist church in the town centre, to give a home to the about 2,500 Catholics who live there and who until then used to go to the parish church of the neighbouring town, Drammen. In the one that will be the new parish church “some renovation works are still going on”, explains the parish priest, and that’s why “we do not have a permanent place to meet and pray and officiate Mass”. But a place is rented for the Sunday celebrations, and next Sunday “we will certainly pray for all the people who have been involved” in this dramatic deed. The Lutheran church is always open, instead, for personal prayers. While the police are still investigating in the attempt to shed light on what happened, the official website of the Municipality of Kongsberg announced that a commemorative celebration will be held in the Lutheran church of Kongsberg, on Sunday 17th October at 11.00am, officiated by the parish priest, Reidar Aasbø.
Valentina Bombelli