Priest bites woman during communion: reports
Holy moly! A priest in Florida allegedly bit a woman during communion, leading to his arrest.
People Magazine, citing local stations WFTV, WKMG-TV, and WDBO, reported that the incident happened at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church at around 1:20 p.m. According to the affidavit, the woman in question attended the mass, led by a certain Father Fidel, to participate in her niece's communion.
But when she was about to receive the bread, the priest allegedly refused to give it to her because she hadn't supposedly completed the necessary steps.
The woman said she did, saying she was “now accepted by God," and the priest became upset and tried to stuff the bread in her mouth.
She then tried to get another piece in his hand, but he allegedly grabbed and bit her arm.
According to WFTV, the witness told the police that Fidel "tried to forcefully shove it in her mouth" and "she backed up.”
"She said, 'No don’t do that,'" the witness said, "and she tried to get it and that is when he went crazy.”
Police body camera footage, meanwhile, showed Fidel telling the police that the woman attended an earlier mass but didn’t understand the process of communion. He told her what steps she needed to take before she could do so, but she didn't complete them.
“‘I am not judging you. I am asking you, ‘Did you confess after Mass?’ If you did not confess, I can’t give you communion,’“ the priest is quoted as saying in the footage.
Fidel also admitted to biting the woman but said it was in self-defense since she allegedly pushed him and tried to grab the tray of bread out of his hands.
“I am not denying that. I was defending myself and the sacrament,” he said in the video.
In another police footage, however, the woman accused Fidel of singling her out due to her sexuality and attire.
"He wouldn’t give me the cookie. I don’t know if it was the way I was dressed or what it is that I like,” she is quoted as saying.
The state has yet to determine whether Fidel will be charged with battery.
