by Thomas Catenacci
The Philadelphia Police Department deferred charges against a woman who it says punched an unsuspecting churchgoer during Catholic Mass on Sunday.
Police chose not to charge the suspect, who they identified Monday, because of her mental health issues, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The decision was made with Catholic Church officials and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
“As this incident has not been referred to our office for prosecution, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further,” a Philadelphia District Attorney spokesperson said, according to The Inquirer.
The incident, which occurred at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, was captured on the church’s livestream. In the video, the woman, wearing a green sweatshirt, can be seen waiting near the front pews as the lectors who had read passages from scripture during the Mass walked toward her.
She then punched one of the lectors twice as several bystanders, including the priest who celebrated the Mass, looked on. Finally, the woman yelled something that cannot be heard in the video as the victim of the punch kept walking and the other lector ran away.
The incident occurred 32 minutes into the live stream.
“I saw somebody there that clearly seemed to be waiting there, and I was a little worried that she was going to attempt to make a scene of some sort, to disrupt the Mass,” the victim, Sarah Contrucci, said, according to The Inquirer. “So I was thinking that I wanted to do whatever I could to keep the situation calm and respectful, and so I just wanted to get back to my pew.”
She added: “Please join me in praying for everyone involved in today’s incident and for respect for our fellow brothers and sisters.”
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia didn’t respond to request for comment.
– – –
Thomas Catenacci is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Churchgoer Punched” by Kearns Media Consulting LLC.
If it had been a white person punching a black person, the white person would already be behind bars & the media would be all over it 24/7. “Mental illness”?!? As Sleepy Joe Biden would say, “Come on, man!” I guess that’s why the radical anarchists destroying cities across the country have gotten a free pass from Libtard mayors & governors. They’re totally crazy, so it’s okay, just let them riot, loot, burn & kill.
Proof that there’s no such a thing as a hate crime when it’s against a white person. smh…
Didn’t press charges against somebody that punches somebody twice in the face stepping off of the altar after communion. The violent attacker was black and they do not want to bring attention to black on white violence during this time. Because it does not fit the narrative.
“Billionaire George Soros, with a check for $1.45 million last week, upended the money race in the Democratic primary campaign for district attorney in Philadelphia.
On April 28, Soros poured that cash into Philadelphia Justice and Public Safety, an independent political action committee running television ads in support of civil rights lawyer Larry Krasner, according to a campaign finance report filed Friday.”
These are the first two sentences in a May 5, 2017 story by Chris Brennan of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Krasner won the primary race and the election, and he is of a similar pattern to Soros supported District Attorney candidates in big cities across the United States. The Tennessee General Assembly needs to place this issue at the top of its first orders of business when it reconvenes or Tennessee may soon experience similar problems in its own big cities. There needs to be some way to remove and/or recall a lawless District Attorney General without having to go through the onerous impeachment process that presently exists. Eight years is a very long time to have to wait to remove a lawless and/or Marxist DAG. And don’t say that it can’t happen here–it just did in several big American cities!
The BAR “attorneys” in the legislature enjoy the current arrangement too much to change it. Just like they subverted the Constitution by making the judicial branch of state government “selected” by them rather than elected by the voters. And TN Republicans point to the “success” of the federal model as justification to remove the people’s ability to keep a check and balance on the other two branches. Just like they use the unelected state AG for “opinions” to derail unwanted bills. And use it as the government’s free legal service representing the government employees rather than the people.