Catholic Priest Who Slapped A Child During Baptism... Has Been Forced To Retire {Video}

The French Catholic priest who slapped a 2 -year- old boy during a baptism ceremony said he regretted his decision and announced his retirement, The Daily Mail reported .

A video of Father Jacques Lacroix , 89 , went viral after Sunday ’s baptism ceremony in the southeastern suburbs of Paris. A Reddit user posted video that showed a clearly irritated Lacroix using his left hand to slap the child .

The furor caused the priest to resign . “ I apologized for my clumsiness to the family . I am finishing my ministry now , it was my last baptism . There is an end to everything , ” Lacroix said .

During the video , Lacroix tells the child to “ Calm down , calm down , you must calm down . ” He tells the boy to be quiet before squeezing the boy’ s face in his hands .

The priest then stared at the boy before using his left hand to slap him. The boy’s parents and family reacted immediately , with the child ’s father wrestling him away from the priest.

Lacroix Jacques denied the slap was too hard , telling France Info radio on Friday that “ It was somewhere between a caress and a slap , I hoped to calm him down , I didn ’t know what to do . ”

The child was screaming a lot and I had to turn his head to pour water over it . I told him to ‘calm down , calm down , ’ but he was not calming down ,” Lacroix said . “ I tried to hold him close . I just wanted him to calm down .”

The bishop of Meaux, Jean -Yves , told the Daily Mail that he had “ taken measures so that the priest is suspended from all baptism and marriage celebrations .”

Watch the video below ;