Skip to main content

What Ever Happened to the Baby-Slapping Priest from that Viral Video?

Share This article

A video posted on Reddit showing a priest slapping a baby during a baptism has shocked viewers and garnered global attention. Now that priest has received the verdict for losing his temper: he's been forced into retirement.
 
The video clip shows an 89-year-old French Catholic priest attempting to comfort a crying baby at a baptism ceremony. But 24 seconds into the video, the priest smacks the child on the cheek, eliciting louder cries and a gasp from the person filming.
 
A man standing behind the child, who's suspected to be the baby's father, is also seen looking shocked at the priest's actions and shortly afterward begins to grab the child away from the priest.
 
The priest, named Father Jacques, doesn't let go though, continuing to grasp the child's head as the father pulls him away before the video abruptly ends.
 
Now the Sun reports Bishop Jean-Yves of Meaux, France has suspended Father Jacques from participating in weddings and baptisms. And the priest tells France Info radio, "I am finishing my ministry now, it was my last baptism; there is an end to everything."
 
After the video went viral, internet users were worried and appalled at the priest's actions, with one person writing, "That was uncalled for." Another wrote, "First of all, he's holding his head, and it looks uncomfortable. No wonder he's all fussy like that. Second, there was nooo reason to slap a child like that. No reason."
 
Other French-speaking Reddit users have tried to translate what's being said in the video:
 
"I'm going to put water on the forehead, and after I'll embrace the young fellow," one user quoted the priest as saying.
 
"Stop crying, calm down. Calm down," the priest continues before suddenly slapping the infant's cheek. "He's calming down. He's calming down. There you go."
 
Another outraged user wrote, "It's supposed to be a speech about how this child is joining the community through his baptism and he clocks the poor kid in the middle of it."

Share This article

About The Author

Kayla
Root