Florida priest accused of biting a woman during mass

• Florida priest bites a woman during Mass.
• Police are investigating Father Fidel Rodriguez.
• Who is telling the truth?

A shocking incident occurred during Communion at Sunday Mass when the priest allegedly bit a woman because she took a handful of hosts.

Police responded to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in St. Cloud, Florida to investigate.

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The alleged victim accused Father Fidel Rodriguez of assault and discrimination, saying she had been denied the sacrament on two occasions.

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Florida priest bites a woman during Mass

«He wouldn’t give me the wafer. I don’t know if it was the way I was dressed or what he didn’t like about me,» the complainant can be heard saying on the video from the officer’s body cam.

The alleged victim, whose identity has not been disclosed by the authorities, was accompanied by a supposed witness.

She testified that the attack occurred when the priest tried to force the host into her mouth, and she did not allow it.

«He tried to force it, and that’s when he went crazy,» the witness stated in a sworn statement.

The priest has another story

In his statement to the police, Father Rodriguez told a completely different story, which was later reiterated by the Diocese of Orlando in a statement.

It all began, according to the church’s report, during the morning mass when a woman lined up with the rest of the parishioners for communion.

«She seemed unaware of the proper procedure,» the official statement explains.

Father Rodríguez determined that she was not prepared or willing to partake in the Communion and denied her the bread, telling her she needed to confess first.

Was the woman at fault?

At that moment, the Mass ended. Two hours later, at 12:00 p.m., the woman returned to the church and again tried to receive Communion.

That’s when the altercation that ended in physical assault began.

«I asked: ‘Did you confess after Mass? If you didn’t confess, I can’t give you Communion,'» the priest reportedly warned the woman.

Although each has their own version of how the incident occurred, church cameras recorded everything, showing the priest biting her.

It was all caught on video

Eventually, the woman, whose name has been withheld by the authorities, left — but not for long.

Within minutes she returned accompanied by police, and accused Father Rodriguez of assault and discrimination based on her sexual orientation, as reflected in her sworn statement.

Father Fidel Rodríguez did not deny the attack.

On the contrary, he justified it by claiming, according to the police body camera recording, that his attack was in self-defense and defense of his faith.

The Florida Priest does not deny biting the woman

«I bit her. I don’t deny it. I was defending myself and the sacrament,» the priest told the police.

Although the Diocese of Orlando does not tolerate physical altercations like this, they say that after viewing the complete security video, they corroborated that the woman initiated physical contact and acted inappropriately.

In addition, the priest was trying to protect the Holy Communion from this sacrilegious act.

Who was at fault?