3 days ago
Martial arts champion priest assaulted 62-year-old woman during exorcism, police say
A priest who has medaled in international jiu-jitsu competitions is under investigation for assaulting a 62-year-old woman during an alleged exorcism, authorities in the Brazilian state of São Paulo said.
Father João Bezerra was conducting a mass last Thursday at the Nossa Senhora Consolata Parish in São Manuel when he revealed before the parishioners that he was an 'exorcist.'
Bezerra – the first black belt priest in Brazil – was walking the around the church while performing the Blessed Sacrament when he approached the woman, whose name has not been released.
The police report indicated that woman was lying on the floor and claimed that she 'rested in the Holy Spirit.'
She subsequently 'began to manifest an evil spirit, becoming unconscious' when Bezerra assaulted her.
The priest slapped, kicked and grabbed the woman by the hair until he pushed her into a pew.
The woman was briefly unconscious and pleaded with Bezerra to stop as the faithful intervened.
Bezerra abandoned the church without explaining himself to the woman or the parishioners.
The woman was taken to Santa Casa de São Manuel Hospital, where she received treatment for bruises to the face, scalp and right shoulder.
The Archdiocese of Botacu told Brazilian news outlet G1 that it is covering the woman's medical expenses.
It also said that it 'has instituted an internal procedure for rigorous investigation of the facts, provisionally removing Father João José Bezerra from the use of order.'
One of the woman's two sisters who attended the service told TV Tem that they did not think that Bezerra was capable of physically harming any of the parishioners.
'We never imagined it, we didn't expect it at all, we were all in shock,' she said.
'I too, at the time, was in church serving Jesus, but we never imagined a priest would do something like that, that this would happen. We were all in shock, paralyzed, without any reaction.'
The victim's other sister said she has had a difficult time forgetting Bezerra's assault.
'My sister, who is 62 years old, is a super Catholic person, who everyone here in São Manuel knows,' she said.
'My sister, who is 62 years old, is a super Catholic person, who everyone here in São Manuel knows,' she said. 'I just hope for justice in reality, because, if this priest was not able to celebrate a mass like that, he could not have done it.'
