Priest says 'I forgive you' in court to juvenile who stabbed him seven times

Fr Paul Murphy at the Criminal Courts of Justice after giving a victim impact statement. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

It was a moment that stunned and moved court practitioners hardened by years of dealing with murder and rape cases.

The sight of Fr Paul Murphy reaching out to his attacker and placing his left hand on the boy’s shoulder and talking intimately with him, with the boy placing his hand on the priest's back, stopped people in their tracks.