ST. CLOUD, Fla. – A Florida priest could face charges after an argument over Communion resulted in allegations that he bit a woman, according to the St. Cloud Police Department.
In a charging affidavit, police said the incident happened around 1:20 p.m. Sunday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church along Brown Chapel Road.
Upon arrival, police said they learned that a woman had attended Mass at the church to participate in her niece’s Communion.
However, the priest conducting the service, whom News 6 has decided not to name because he was not arrested and does not yet face formal charges, reportedly refused to give the woman Communion bread, claiming she hadn’t performed the necessary steps to be given the holy sacrament, the affidavit says.
While the woman argued that she had performed the necessary steps and was “now accepted by God,” the priest allegedly became upset and tried to ram a “cookie” into her mouth, according to investigators.
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In response, the woman tried to grab another Communion bread that the priest was holding, but he grabbed her and bit her arm, police said they were told.
Police then spoke with the priest, who explained that he had previously told the woman the steps necessary to receive Communion, but she refused to follow them.
“I gave her the benefit of the doubt. ‘Did you confess between the Mass before and this?’ Because she can do it,” he can be heard saying on released body-camera video. “’No, I don’t need to explain to you. I don’t need to have an explanation. You don’t have authority to judge me.’ I’m not judging you; I am asking: ‘Did you confess?’”
The priest said that the woman pushed him after he refused to give her Communion, and she then grabbed the tray of bread out of his hands, which is considered sacrilege.
“The Catholic faith considered the Communion bread the body of Christ, and he was trying to protect it,” the affidavit reads. “(The priest) advised that (she) pushed him and would not let go of the Communion tray, and the only way he thought to extract her from it was to bite her arm.”
As a result, the priest stated that he considered the event a matter of self-defense.
Another released body-camera video shows a recording of the incident on someone’s cellphone, though it’s not necessarily clear from the video who struck first.
The state will determine whether the priest will be charged with battery.
The Diocese of Orlando on Thursday released a statement about the incident.
“On Sunday, May 19, at the 10 a.m. Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in St. Cloud, a woman came through (the priest’s) Holy Communion line and appeared unaware of the proper procedure. After a brief exchange with the woman, it was determined that she was neither prepared nor disposed to participate in Communion. (The priest) gave the woman a blessing and advised her to receive the Sacrament of Penance (Confession) before coming back to receive Holy Communion (Eucharist).
“The same woman arrived at 12 p.m. Mass on Sunday and stood in (the priest’s) Communion line. (The priest) asked if she had been to the Sacrament of Penance (Confession), to which she stated it was not his business. At that time, (the priest) offered the woman Holy Communion on the tongue. At that point, the woman forcefully placed her hand in the vessel and grabbed some sacred Communion hosts, crushing them. Having only one hand free, (the priest) struggled to restrain the woman as she refused to let go of the hosts. When the woman pushed him and reacting to a perceived act of aggression, (the priest) bit her hand so she would let go of the hosts she grabbed. The woman was immediately asked to leave.
“It should be noted (the priest) had no prior knowledge of the woman’s background. Further, while the Diocese of Orlando does not condone physical altercations such as this, in good faith, (the priest) was simply attempting to prevent an act of desecration of the Holy Communion, which, as a priest, (he) is bound by duty to protect.
“The full video and the police report show the woman initiated physical contact and acted inappropriately. The priest was trying to protect the Holy Communion from this sacrilegious act.
“In the Catholic Tradition, the Eucharist is considered ‘the source and summit’ of worship and faith. The act of participation in Holy Communion therefore calls for a proper understanding, reverence, and devotion. It is not something a person can arbitrarily demand and is certainly not a mere ‘cookie’ as the complainant called it.
“The Diocese of Orlando believes all people of all faiths should be respected and that their religious ceremonies or services should never be disrupted.”
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