ST CLOUD, Fla. — A priest in Central Florida faces a potential criminal charge after he reportedly bit a congregant at mass who was denied communion, according to law enforcement authorities.
The incident occurred during Sunday services at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church in St. Cloud as parishioners were receiving communion, WFTV reported.
Officers with the St. Cloud Police Department met with the unidentified woman who said the scuffle began when she tried to receive communion, but was denied.
“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 was heard saying, according to WFTV.
The priest was identified as Father Fidel. (The church website lists Father Fidel Rodriguez as the Parochial Vicor.) He told officers the woman came to the 10 o’clock mass but didn’t’ seem to know the process of receiving communion, so he denied her the bread wafer.
The woman returned to a later service and tried again, but this time a confrontation occurred when she tried to grab the wafer from his hand, according to the priest.
A witness believed the woman was singled out because of her sexuality and attire, according to a statement provided to police.
“He tried to forcefully shove it in her mouth, she backed up,” the witness said. “She said no don’t do that and she tried to get it, and that is when he went crazy.”
Father Fidel reportedly acknowledged biting the woman during the unusual dustup, WFTV reported.
“I am not judging you; I am asking you; did you confess after mass? If you did not confess, I cannot give you communion,” Father Fidel said to the woman, according to his statement to police.
“I bit her, I am not denying that,” the priest told officers. “I am defending myself and the sacrament.”
Police have recommended the charge of battery against Father Fidel.
The Catholic Diocese of Orlando has not issued a comment regarding the encounter.
