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A Masterton priest was attacked in his own home in the early hours of yesterday morning when he woke to find a burglar ransacking his presbytery.
Father Julian Wagg, of St Patrick's Church, was still shaken yesterday as he spoke of waking up to lights and noises in his home around 1am.
"I woke up in a bit of a daze and noticed lights on so I got up and went to the bedroom next door where I found someone going through a drawer that had a couple of bottles of wine in it."
Father Wagg said the burglar dressed in a dark hoody approached him "and threw several punches" that caused a cut to his face.
"It all happened so fast and I can't really recall exactly what happened or whether I hit him back or not," he said.
"I was turning the other cheek like God told me to."
Thousands of dollars worth of electronic equipment, including a DVD player and laptop computer as well as alcohol and chocolates were stolen by a group of five or six teenagers around 18-years-old, Father Wagg said.
"After the altercation he took off and I noticed another 4 or 5 outside. They scattered straight away, some by foot and the rest on bicycles."
His attacker was wearing a carry bag that was probably used to put some of the stolen belongings into, he said.
"I've never had anyone invade my home before and I'm guessing they probably thought nobody was home."
Father Wagg moved from Wellington almost two years ago and said what was stolen can be replaced but values of dishonesty and disrespect take a little longer to recover.
"You have to earn those sorts of morals and those who break them take a lot longer to reclaim them," he said.
Masterton police Senior Constable Bob Hooker said a number of good prints had been found on the window, which burglars broke to get into the house.
"It seems violence was used against Father Wagg to make good of their escape."
- Wairarapa Times-Age
