A Florida priest appeared to admit to biting a woman during Communion — but the events leading up to it remain unclear. The altercation happened in the afternoon on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in St. Cloud, Florida. The woman that the priest allegedly bit says that the priest denied her Communion, while the priest claims that he was "defending [himself] and the sacrament" because the woman wasn't following the proper procedures, WFTV reported.
"I bit her. I am not denying that," he reportedly told police, according to WFTV.
The woman told her side of the story.
The woman, who has not been identified, was reportedly at the church for her niece’s Communion, according to WKMG. She first went to Mass at 10 o’clock, but didn't appear to understand the procedures for receiving Communion, so she returned to the church at noon, CNN reported.
She told police that she was ready when she returned, the outlet reported. However, the priest allegedly got "upset and tried to ram the ‘cookie’ in her mouth," the affidavit said, as per CNN.
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Bodycam footage has also shown the woman describing why she believes she couldn't receive Communion.
“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 said, as per WFTV.
A witness gave an account from their perspective.
A witness also described what happened. "He tried to forcefully shove it in her mouth, she backed up. She said, 'No, don’t do that' and she tried to get it and that is when he went crazy," the witness said, reported WFTV.
The witness thinks that the woman's sexuality and what she was wearing did play a role in the conflict, according to the outlet. However, the priest told police that he doesn't judge people, and also didn't know the woman or her sexuality when the conflict occurred.
The priest told his side of the story.
According to the priest, he explained what needed to be done to receive Communion, but the woman did not do what she was supposed to, WKMG reported.
“I gave her the benefit of the doubt. ‘Did you confess between the Mass before and this?’ Because she can do it,” he said, according to bodycam footage.
“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,” he continued.
He also claims that the woman pushed him and wouldn't give the Communion tray back to him, according to WKMG.
He reportedly bit her because the Communion bread is considered "the body of Christ, and he was trying to protect it," according to the affidavit.
The Diocese of Orlando provided its response.
The Diocese of Orlando also commented on the incident in a statement. According to the statement, 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]" at the 10 a.m. Mass because she "appeared unaware of the proper procedure."
When she returned, the priest reportedly "asked if she had been to the Sacrament of Penance [Confession]," according to the statement from the Diocese of Orlando.
The woman allegedly said "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," the statement said.
The statement also noted that "The Diocese of Orlando believes all people of all faiths should be respected and that their religious ceremonies or services should never be disrupted."
Communion requires "a proper understanding, reverence, and devotion" and "is certainly not a mere ‘cookie’ as the complainant called it," according to the statement.
