Priest Placed On Suspension After Viral Video Shows Him Slapping Crying Baby During Baptism

Aug 16, 2018 by apost team

There are some stories you hear and read about but maybe don't believe. When a telling video is attached to the story, you're usually convinced it's authentic. In this case, the now viral video speaks volumes during a church baptism at a town located in the suburbs near Paris.

A young family brought their baby boy to the Collegiate Church in Champeaux, near Melun, for Father Jacques Lacroix to officiate. The video shows the priest becoming a bit frustrated as the little one starts crying uncontrollably. Father Lacroix keeps telling the baby to calm down and be quiet during the ceremony. At one point, it appears as though the priest is trying to squeeze the baby's face with his hands. He is half holding the baby with the mother.

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The infant continues crying loudly. That is when Father Lacroix allegedly twists the tiny baby's face to him directly, and then, he slaps the baby on the face. Family members in the pews are shocked. The elderly priest continues to draw the baby to his chest, but the father of the baby boy has had enough and practically wrestles the infant from the priest's hold. Father Lacroix didn't want to let the little one go, but the father quickly grabs his baby.

Father Lacroix gave an interview to France Info radio, explaining that he only wanted to calm the infant down during the baptism. What he did was something in the middle of a caress and a slap, he admitted. He needed the baby to be calm, he says, so he could pour water over his head, but the baby was not having any of it.

The disgraced priest, 89, said he was sorry to the family for his clumsiness.

He says that was his final baptism, and he was finishing his ministry. The bishop says Lacroix can no longer officiate at baptisms or weddings, but he can celebrate mass if he receives permission ahead of time from church authorities.

Do you think this was an accident, or do you believe the priest was being purposefully aggressive? Let us know your thoughts and spread this video around.