A priest allegedly denied a woman Communion and bit her to ‘protect’ a wafer representing the body of Christ.
Father Fidel Rodriguez was performing the Communion at St Thomas Aquinas Church in St Cloud, Florida, when an unidentified woman said she tried to receive it but was rejected.
‘He wouldn’t give me the cookie. I don’t know if it was the way I was dressed, or if it is what I like,’ the woman is heard saying in police body cam footage obtained by WFTV.
A witness at the ceremony on Sunday told cops that she appeared to be denied due to her sexuality and attire. The witness claimed that Rodriguez tried to shove the wafer in the woman’s mouth but that she backed away and tried to take it from him, causing him to go ‘crazy’.
But Rodriguez had is own side of the story.
He told cops that the woman did not seem to know the process of receiving Communion and that he denied her the bread because of that. He said she tried again and that she tried to grab the wafer from his hand, spurring a confrontation.
The priest also said he acted to protect the wafer that is considered part of Christ’s body and in self-defense.
‘I am not judging you; I am asking you; did you confess after mass? If you did not confess, I cannot give you Communion,’ Rodriguez explained to cops, before admitting, ‘I bit her, I am not denying that. I am defending myself and the sacrament.’
Rodriguez also said his action was not based around the woman’s sexual orientation, which he was not aware of.
‘I don’t judge nobody,’ he said.
The Diocese in its own account of the incident shared on Thursday said Rodriguez had asked the woman if she had been to the Sacrament of Penance, or Confession, and was told it was not his business.
‘Father Rodriguez 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,’ stated the Diocese.
‘Having only one hand free, Father Rodriguez struggled to restrain the woman as she refused to let go of the hosts.
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‘When the woman pushed him and reacting to a perceived act of aggression, Father Rodriguez bit her hand so she would let go of the hosts she grabbed.’
The woman was asked to leave the church.
Meanwhile, police have recommended that the priest be charged with battery.
It is not the only bizarre incident to happen recently at a place of worship in the US.
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