What was this priest thinking?

In a video that’s gone viral around the world, you can see an elderly priest slap a crying baby during a baptism. The baby wouldn’t be quiet after the priest tried to comfort him, so the priest grabbed hold of the baby and slapped him. You can hear gasps of shock from those present. The upset parents then had to wrestle the baby away from the priest who wouldn’t let go. You can watch the full video below.

Confirmed by Snopes to be a real video of a recent event, the incident happened at a church in Seine-et-Marne, France.

The local diocese of Meaux issued a statement saying that the priest was tired and simply lost his temper, but that such an explanation doesn’t excuse his behavior. The priest has been suspended from performing future baptisms and weddings. The statement also said that immediately following the events of the video, the priest apologized to the parents and the baby was baptized.

The video has gone viral, with major news outlets reporting on it around the world.

Here’s the video:

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

[See also: LOL! Diocesan Newspaper’s Hilarious Typo in Their Headline Goes Viral]

[See also: The Astonishing Story of the Cardinal Who Went Undercover to Save the Drug Lord Pablo Escobar]

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