Neos Kosmos’ readers flocked to voice their outrage after the paper reported that a Melbourne Greek Orthodox priest booted out a five-year-old girl from church after the child said she didn’t like the taste of the Holy Communion.
More than 650 people voiced their disgust over the priest’s actions on our Facebook page.
“The kid didn’t know any better,” wrote Dimi Papadopoulos. “Even parents can’t force a child to like the taste. The priest could have taken the time to speak with the child instead of throwing the child out. Then they wonder why kids don’t go to church? Poor example of leadership on the priest’s part.”
Voula Boutsikakis agreed and said: “It’s priests like him that have driven people away from the church.”
Many others including Georgina Papafotiou suggested that the priest should have considered taking the child and the family aside after the service and speaking to them about the issue.
“His behaviour is not acceptable,” Ms Papafotiou said. “He is a role model for the community and needs to be more understanding and acceptable.”
Others took to Facebook to voice their opinion on the act of serving Holy Communion.
“While we are talking about Communion, isn’t it about time they introduce disposable spoons?” said Stacey Graham.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia condemned the actions of the priest and implored more families to speak to their children about what Holy Communion is and how to receive it.