Wakeley church stabbing: Parents of teenage boy who allegedly attacked bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel break their silence

The devastated parents of a teenager charged with terrorism after allegedly stabbing a bishop claim he 'wasn't in his right mind'.

The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, 55, while he was delivering a livestreamed sermon at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, in Sydney's west, on April 15. 

The incident sparked a riot outside the church with a crowd of 2,000 people chanting 'bring him out' and 'an eye for an eye' as police kept the teenager inside the building amid fears for his safety.

His parents have now broken their silence, thanking the police for protecting their son and expressing relief that Bishop Emmanuel survived the alleged attack. 

'If he's truly religious, like we raised him, he wouldn't have done that,' she told ABC.

'He's made a big mistake, a very big mistake.

'But I believe he wasn't in his right mind.'

Their son was later charged with terrorism and faces a possible life sentence.

Following a series of raids in the aftermath of the alleged attack, police have brought charges against six more boys, some as young as 14, who are accused of being part of a terrorist network. 

At primary school he was bullied and would lash out, his parents said. 

'In school, I used to get scared whenever I'd get a phone call, because I knew that they complained about him,' his mother said.

ABC Investigations discovered that the boy was interacting with extremists in Australia and across the world in the months leading up to the stabbing. 

His profile picture on WhatsApp was a photo of Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for 9/11.

After police seized his phone they discovered he was part of a WhatsApp group called BROTHERHOOD with other teenagers who expressed sympathies with violent extremism. 

The boy had liked a series of violent posts, including a video of Bin Laden encouraging Muslims to die for their cause. 

He made a final post on Instagram around an hour before the alleged stabbing, imploring Muslims to 'attain victory over their enemies'.

Bishop Emmanuel, an Orthodox Assyrian with a large online following, has made several controversial comments about Islam, including that 'Prophet Muhammad failed because he is dead'.

Peta Lowe, a juvenile extremism expert and former director of Countering Violent Extremism for NSW Juvenile Justice, told the ABC that it was 'very common for individuals to have what they call "leakage", just as they approach actually conducting an attack'.

'It was a very clear message that he had got to the point where he was motivated to act on his beliefs,' Ms Lowe said.

The boy underwent surgery after accidentally cutting off one of his own finger during the incident. 

But his mother revealed his odd response when they visited him in hospital after the alleged attack.

'He was asking for a hug and kiss because he saw I was upset,' his mother said.

'Sometimes he'd laugh, sometimes he'd say "I don't know".

'He was showing me his hand like a baby. I think he didn't know what he was doing.'

His parents also claimed he had been upset after the death of a friend two days before the stabbing.

Four boys aged were arrested in anti-terror raids last Wednesday in western Sydney. They included a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and two aged 17.

Police allege they had planned to buy shotguns, describing themselves as 'soldiers of Allah' and claiming they were willing to 'die and kill'.

Another two, aged 14 and 16, were charged with possessing extremist material, including Islamic State videos of beheadings.