An innocent parish priest was attacked and knocked unconscious in the sacristy of his church in Merrillville, Indiana on Monday by a man who cried out, “This is for all the kids!”

The Herald Bulletin is reporting on the attack upon Father Basil Hutsko, 64, a Byzantine Catholic priest who was standing in the altar servers’ sacristy of St. Michael’s Church after celebrating the liturgy.

"The attacker grabbed him, choked him and threw him to the ground and knocked him unconscious. He was wearing gloves. Father Basil does not know who it was, but while he was attacking him, he heard the attacker say to him, 'This is for all the kids,'" said the Rev. Thomas Loya, a friend and colleague of Hutsko.

Father Loya, who serves as director of the Respect Life Office for the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Parma, Ohio, told the Catholic News Service (CNS) that the assailant “must have been pretty strong, because Father Hutsko is a pretty healthy, strong guy,” and he was “smart enough to not leave any fingerprints.”

Father Hutsko was alone in the church at the time and was unconscious for about 15 minutes. Thankfully, some parishioners came by and found him. The priest was taken to the hospital where he was treated for a concussion. He is also scheduled for further tests to determine the extent of his injuries.

The FBI is investigating the incident as a hate crime because they believe Hutsko was attacked simply because he was a priest.

Thus far, there are no suspects in the case.

The attack is a chilling reminder of the rage inspired by the recent release of a Grand Jury report detailing sexual abuses dating back to World War II by more than 300 Catholic priests, deacons and laypersons in six Pennsylvania dioceses. This report was released in the wake of the scandal surrounding Cardinal Theodore McCarrick who was accused multiple times of sexual abuse of minors and was a known homosexual predator and yet was still promoted to the upper ranks of the Church hierarchy.

Hutsko, however, was never accused of sexual abuse.

Loya told CNS he’s worried that the scandal is making them into easy targets, much like in the past when good priests have been attacked and disrespected due to the sins of the abusers.

"The stories are very ugly... and very unbecoming of the church, so I can see where some people might become enraged. But at the same time, people get enraged and do this to an innocent priest, and that’s not going to help or solve anything," Loya said.

He added: “All clergy now have to be vigilant. Not paranoid, but vigilant. It’s time to witness.”

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