Mexican priest moved to intermediate care after stabbing attack

Mexico City, Mexico, Jun 28, 2017 / 12:07 am (CNA).- Father Miguel Angel Machorro, who was stabbed May 15 at the Mexico City Cathedral, left intensive care and was transferred to the Intermediate Care Area of Angeles Mocel Hospital in Mexico City, according to a June 20 statement by the Archdiocese of Mexico.

Fr. Machorro was injured in a knife attack occurring around 6:45 p.m. on May 15, at the end of Mass in the Cathedral. The assailant has been identified as Mexican citizen, Juan René Silva Martínez. Martinez attempted to slit the throat of the priest, instead injuring him on the right side of his neck. Expert reports have determined that the assailant has a “psychotic disorder.”

Authorized personnel of Ángeles Mocel Hospital told the archdiocese that the priest’s transfer to the Intermediate Care Area does not mean that Fr. Machorro’s health problems are solved. “He has a long road ahead of him in the field of neurological and pulmonary rehabilitation,” they explained, and warned that it is very likely that Fr. Machorro will maintain a “permanent significant motor and respiratory disability.”