A disturbing video is going viral this week showing a Catholic priest doing something horrifying to a little baby.
The Star reported that the priest in the video below was suspended on Friday after a video went viral showing him slapping an infant. Posted to Twitter on Thursday, the video shows an 89-year-old priest ordering the baby he is holding to “be quiet” before forcibly slapping him in the face. As if this is not bad enough, the priest follows this up by slapping him again seconds later.
The child’s stunned parents were finally able to get the baby out of the priest’s hands eventually. The incident occurred during a ceremony in Champeaux, about 50 km southeast of Paris.
“This loss of self-control can be attributed to the fatigue of an elderly priest, but that doesn’t excuse it,” the diocese of Meaux, which includes the town, said in a statement.
Despite the fact that he has been suspended from conducting any further religious duties until further notice, the priest still stands by what he did.
“The child was bawling and I needed to turn his head so I could pour the water. I was saying ‘be quiet’ but he wouldn’t calm down,” the priest said during an interview on Friday. “It was something between a caress and a little slap. I was trying to calm him down, I didn’t really know what to do.”
Twitter users, however, have made it clear that they believe the priest was in the wrong:
This is an outrage! This Priest is evil! He shouldn’t be around children ever! I hope the family seeks justice for their baby!
— Teresa Shay (@teresasunshines) June 21, 2018
I would have knocked him over.!!
— Adrian Elliott (@roverade) June 21, 2018
I don’t care who it was, if u touch my child you had better run!! Who the hell did he think he was laying a hand on that child!!
— ciarrai (@ciarrai19) June 21, 2018
We have to agree that the priest went way too far here and should not be allowed to perform ceremonies like this one again. It is never okay to slap a child, but it is especially disturbing to see someone who is a religious leader engaging in this form of child abuse.