A priest from Christ the King Church in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district has been removed from the church’s religious ministry after a video of him assaulting an elderly couple went viral. The incident took place on February 29 at Periyalthadka village of Manila near Vitla in Bantwal taluk. The video of the incident was captured on CCTV.
According to the police, the priest, identified as Fr Nelson Olivera, visited the couple's home to give them blessings. The couple, Gregory (79) and Philomena (72) alleged that the priest abused and assaulted them when they refused to donate to the church. The video of the incident shows the priest, Nelson, dragging the elderly man by his hair and kicking the woman when she tried to intervene.
Vitla police have registered a case against the priest under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code, based on the couple’s complaint.
The Mangalore Diocese, on Saturday, March 2, expressed sadness over the incident and pledged full cooperation with law enforcement. They said that the diocese would also conduct an internal investigation to determine the facts. “As an immediate response, the priest concerned will be removed from the religious ministry of the church and someone else would be deputed to serve the spiritual needs of people,” the statement read.