Posted on 07/06/2008 9:43:53 AM PDT by Pyro7480
A University of Central Florida student, upset religious groups hold church services on public campuses, is holding hostage the Eucharist, an object so sacred to Catholics they call it the Body of Christ.
Church officials say UCF Student Senator Webster Cook was disruptive and disrespectful when he attended Mass held on campus Sunday June 29. It was during that Mass where Cook admits he obtained the Eucharist....
A church leader was watching, confronted Cook and tried to recover the sacred bread. Cook said she crossed the line and that's why he brought it home with him.
"She came up behind me, grabbed my wrist with her right hand, with her left hand grabbed my fingers and was trying to pry them open to get the Eucharist out of my hand," Cook said, adding she wouldn't immediately take her hands off him despite several requests....
"The church feels that I'm the problem here," Cook said. "The problem is actually that this is a publicly-funded religious institution. Through student government here, we fund them through an activity and service, so they're receiving student money."
Cook is upset more than $40,000 in student fees have been allocated to support religious organizations on campus for the 2008-2009 school year, according to student government records. He denied he is holding the Eucharist hostage to protest that support.
...Cook has been keeping the Eucharist stored in a plastic bag since last Sunday....
Cook said he'd consider returning the Eucharist if he gets an apology and a meeting with the Bishop's office to discuss the Diocese's policy on physical force....
(Excerpt) Read more at wftv.com ...
Angel's Prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
Catholic ping!
Hate crime.
expect very sizeable things to happen in this individual’s life.
This poor lost soul thinks he knows everything about life. Unfortunately, the body of Christ is about everlasting life and he has committed a sin.
May he see the error of his ways and return the Eucharist to where it belongs.
florida is the spiritual sink-strainer of the US.
OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!
Yikes!
Lucky for her she did not do this at a Catholic Church as there are lil old ladies that watch for varments like her and would have blocked the doors and physically took The Body of Christ from her and any crumb that fell.
Jesus gave the disciples his body by hand at the last supper - the method is not the problem.
I have no doubt just like the Crucifixion, God will bring good out of this despicable act and evangelize people.
“florida is the spiritual sink-strainer of the US”
That is an incredibly ignorant comment. It’s quite the opposite - there are VERY strong faith communities here.
> The Diocese is dispatching a nun to UCF's campus to oversee the next mass, protect the Eucharist and in hopes Cook will return it.
I'm studying to be a Catholic, so this might sound like a dumb couple of questions:
Wouldn't a couple of burly Priests be a more effective deterrent to a repeat offense?
And isn't it actually a Federal crime to disrupt a religious service in this matter in America? (I believe it is, and quite a serious one at that.)
He is expecting a job in Obama’s Department of Education.
Aside from the fact that we’re talking about a sacred object here, how does this differ from any other theft and why isn’t this POS under arrest? And since someone tried to stop him and there was a struggle, doesn’t that elevate it to strong-arm robbery?
Charge the person with theft and have him thrown in jail.
Where does it say in the Bible that Our Lord gave it to them in the hand. It just says gave it to them. It's uncertain. In any case, your forget the Apostles were the first bishops.
I disagree. The method IS part of the problem.
I’m not Catholic, I’m not even Christian; but to me this is an outrage.
Right. The sort of ignorance based upon a half a lifetime of experience.
It’s quite the opposite - there are VERY strong faith communities here.
Yeah, like Cassadaga. Ask the locals what they do in the cow pastures on Friday nights.
Two words for your "strong spiritual communities": Terry Schiavo.
Those aren't dumb questions at all. The fact that they're sending a nun does make it seem like they're not treating this matter seriously enough.
And you're right, it is a federal crime to disrupt a religious service. I don't know how often they prosecute though.
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