Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel returned to his Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley
just in time for Orthodox Palm Sunday. Wearing an eye patch, he received a Hero’s
welcome upon appearing at the pulpit and delivered a sermon in three different languages.
Footage of Bishop’s comeback went viral all-over social media well before mainstream
media outlets reported it.
Despite the obvious physical injuries and loss of an eye, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel
extended forgiveness and love to his alleged attacker, emphasising the importance of a
civilized and intellectual approach to such events.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel delivered one of his trademark passionate sermons defending
Freedom of Speech and Religion. Carrying a gold cross and palm branch, the bishop
expressed concern that Freedom of Speech could be absent in a democratic country.
He asserted, “I believe in one thing: the integrity and identity of the human being. This
human identity, this human integrity, is a God-given gift—no one else. Every human being
has the right to their Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion.” He emphasized that this
right extends to people of various faiths, including Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Atheists,
and Christians. The bishop challenged the idea that free speech is dangerous, asserting that
civilized human beings should be able to express themselves without fearing for their lives
or facing censorship.
A censorship debate erupted in Australia and offshore regarding the limits of free
expression in the wake of the Wakeley terror attack and ensuing riots. Australia’s eSafety
Commissioner Julie Inman Grant even ordered social media platform X (formerly known as
Twitter) to remove specific posts related to the incident.
While calm has returned to the streets of Southwest Sydney, a public stoush continues
between Australian Politicians and X’s owner Elon Musk over the video showing the terror
attack unfolding. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has sided with Elon Musk and has no
problem with the video remaining on X.
Elon Musk bought X (formerly Twitter) for a whopping USD$43 billion on April 14, 2022,
which he claimed was a move that would allow him to change the platform to promote
more “free speech.”
The world’s second richest man calls himself a “free speech absolutist” and had criticized
Twitter’s increasing usage of content moderation. Australia’s e-safety commissioner is also
under fire over her stance against Canadian Chris Elston.
Elon Musk’s X is suing the Australian government after the E-Safety Commissioner ordered
an ‘offensive’ post removed from the platform earlier this month.
It was revealed that X faced an $800,000 fine if it did not remove a post written by Chris
Elston, in which he misgendered and made ‘disparaging’ remarks about an Australian
citizen, Teddy Cook.
Cook, 45, is a female-to-male trans man who has advocated for taxpayer-funded surgeries
for all transgender Australians and was controversially appointed to a World Health
Organization expert panel.
Chris Elston is currently in Melbourne and has been seen holding a poster in downtown
Melbourne that reads “Children cannot consent to puberty blockers”.