The Catholic
community in the Spanish town of Rotova will hold an act
of reparation this Friday for a
sacrilege committed against the Eucharist during
Mass last weekend. The incident occurred at a parish in
Rotova when a group of young people who had been
participating in an annual festival came to noon Mass.
One of them took the host out of his mouth during
Communion and threw it on the floor.
Witnesses-including a local justice of the
peace-informed the priest who was celebrating the Mass,
Father Victor Jimeno. The priest
then had one of the parish assistants retrieve the
trampled host and give it to him. Becoming angry,
Fr. Jimeno approached the young
man, slapped him, and threw him out of church, calling
him sacrilegious.
"For me,
my love for the Eucharist
is greater than the love for my parents.
I just was overwhelmed and I don't know what happened."
The priest
explained that he "went over to the group of young
people who were taking pictures in front of the altar,
and I asked if the boy had thrown the host on the
ground." Fr. Jimeno continued saying that the boy just
looked back at him "and smiled."
The priest added that he was sorry for
slapping the young man.
Fr. Jesus
Sanchez, episcopal vicar of Safor, told the newspaper
Las Provincias that the incident was "sad" and that
although Fr. Jimeno was wrong to lash out at the young
man, "He reacted as a father would
in response to an offense."
"All of this has affected me a
lot, I am very said. I couldn't sleep last night and I
just prayed and cried,' Fr. Jimeno admitted,
noting that it is difficult for unbelievers to
understand his reaction.
What happened to the Eucharist "is the worst thing that
can be done to a believer."
The "act of reparation and
atonement" will take place in accord with directives
given by the Archdiocese of Valencia and will be
celebrated by Fr. Sanchez. The faithful and priests from
the surrounding areas are encouraged to attend.
