Tribunal orders man not criminally responsible for attacking priest to remain in psychiatric ward

A man who tried to stab a Catholic priest during a service at a Selkirk Avenue church in February has been ordered to stay in a hospital psychiatric ward for at least the next year.

Pawel Olownia, 50 at the time he was arrested, attempted to stab the 38-year-old priest who was on the altar of Holy Ghost Parish during the Feb. 9 Sunday-evening mass.

He was in the grips of the delusional belief he was being persecuted by the Church and the Canadian government, court was told.

A provincial court judge ruled in June he was not criminally responsible for charges of assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and disrupting a religious service.

The judge sent the case to the Criminal Code Review Board, which held a hearing July 28.

The board placed several conditions on Olownia, including that he reside in a secure psychiatric ward, abstain from intoxicants and not attend a Catholic church or contact his victim, in a disposition issued July 30.

The disposition also bars Olownia from possessing weapons, and says he may be granted passes from the hospital on the recommendation of the team treating him.

The Criminal Code Review Board reviews the conditions placed on people found not criminally responsible and can make adjustments based on factors such as public safety and the reintegration of the individual into society every year.

Olownia’s next hearing date has not been set.

Olownia had gone to a Winnipeg hospital weeks prior to the February incident and told doctors there he planned to kill a priest. He was discharged, but it’s unclear why.

— With files from the Canadian Press

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca