Priest bites woman during Communion clash at Florida church

ST. CLOUD, Fla. (TND) — Communion at a Florida church took an unexpected turn during an argument between a woman and a priest that led to a bitten arm during Sunday Mass.

TheSt. Thomas Aquinas Church parishioner alleged, in police video obtained by The National Desk (TND), that Fidel Rodriguez denied her from receiving Communion at the Florida church.

“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 told police officers.

The St. Cloud police report stated the woman told officers Rodriguez accused her of not taking the "prior steps necessary to give her the communion bread."

She alleged that Father Fidel shoved a "cookie" in her mouth when he got upset with her.

The report noted that the woman argued with the priest telling him she was "now accepted by God" and was able to participate in Communion.

The woman was bitten in the arm when she allegedly tried to grab another Communion bread from the tray Rodriguez was holding.

A police investigator determined Rodriguez did bite the woman in "attempt to defend the Communion bread he held sacred" after several witnesses were interviewed.

Rodriguez told a different story. He admitted to bitting the woman because he was protecting the "body of Christ" when she "attacked" him. He explained to the investigating police officer why he bit the woman's arm. He alleged that he was pushed by the woman. He then bit her because it was the "only way he thought to extract the Communion tray when she wouldn't let go of it."

He told police that the bread is considered "sacrilege" because of the "rules of the Catholic faith."

A witness, who was with the woman at church, told officers she believed the woman wassingled out by Rodriguez because of her sexuality and attire.

Following the investigation at the church a charging affidavit accused Rodriguez of battery.

No arrest has been made as of Friday.

The case is being reviewed by State Attorney's Office to determine further action, according to a St. Cloud city spokesperson.

TND reached out to theOrlando Diocese. They provided the following statement which claimed that Rodriguez hadhad "no prior knowledge of the woman’s background."

On Sunday, May 19, at the 10 a.m. Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in St. Cloud, a woman came through Father Fidel Rodriguez’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. Father Rodriguez 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 Father Rodriguez’s Communion line. Father Rodriguez asked if she had been to the Sacrament of Penance (Confession), to which she stated it was not his business. At that time, 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. Having only one hand free, Father Rodriguez 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, Father Rodriguez bit her hand so she would let go of the hosts she grabbed. The woman was immediately asked to leave.

It should be noted Father Rodriguez 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, Father Rodriguez was simply attempting to prevent an act of desecration of the Holy Communion, which, as a priest, Father Rodriguez 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.