Religious leader stabbed

Woman sneaked into group of singing monks and stabbed 90-year-old Brother Roger.

PARIS -- It was vespers in the Church of Reconciliation and a choir of monks was intoning the first notes of evensong amid a sea of worshippers.

In the peace and solemnity of prayer, few people in the Burgundy village paid heed to the woman who had slipped into the group of singing monks.

Suddenly, a witness said, she lunged forward and sank a knife into the throat of the 90-year-old Brother Roger. He slumped forward and blood gushed from his wound.

Fifteen minutes later, the founder of the Taize Ecumenical Community who was celebrated worldwide for promoting Christian dialogue and for harboring Jews during World War II, was dead.

"It happened very fast. There were some screams. We turned around. He was wounded," said Brother Emile, who was present when Roger was stabbed at least twice. "We carried him out of the church so people didn't see the terrible part. ... She slit his throat."

The slaying Tuesday of Brother Roger drew reactions of shock and grief from the pope, the head of the Anglican Church and worshippers around the world.

Tributes to the silver-haired cleric poured in Wednesday to the tranquil Taize Community, snuggled in the village north of Lyon.

Pope Benedict XVI, who had received a letter from Brother Roger on Tuesday -- the day of the killing -- deplored the "very sad and terrifying news."