Humble Priest Begs Forgiveness for Withholding the Eucharist

At Holy Thursday Mass, Fr. Sergio Fita said the words that so many of the faithful have waited to hear.

"I feel the need to publicly apologize for the events of the past year. I am a priest, and therefore in a small way, I represent the Church. I represent her to you, and also in this world that God loves so much. When people see me out in the world—in a restaurant, in a supermarket, in a store, at the doctor’s office—they see the Church. When you come to me for advice, you are not looking for my opinion, which is as fallible and fragile as your own. You want to find the guidance and the Truth that God has given to the Church.

That is why, aware of this reality, I want to ask your forgiveness this evening, and God’s forgiveness in the name of the Church, for my sins and hers. I ask for forgiveness for having left you without the Eucharist for many weeks last year. Many of you, in the most difficult moments of the pandemic, turned to your father for bread, and we gave you a stone. We failed you by denying you the only Food that could sustain your hope. We abandoned you when we should have been closest to you. For this, at this holy Mass, I ask your forgiveness.

The worst thing is that I cannot assure you that such a thing will not happen again, because as far as I know, I have not heard anyone express regret for what happened. What I can promise you is that I will never again be a party to something similar, and that if obedience places me in such a situation again, I will withdraw so as not to be a responsible and guilty party to something that, even today, weighs on my conscience, as the act of which I am most ashamed in my entire life."

He went on to say more (this time in Spanish), specifically about the ways in which we have wounded Our Lord’s heart as we relegated Him to “non-essential” status. Thanks to Leila Miller, the translation of these comments is posted below:

"I ask forgiveness from Christ in the Eucharist for all that He has had to suffer this past year. In the Eucharist we find a living Heart that is sensitive like ours, more sensitive than ours. He has suffered this year from many of the decisions that have been made. We have made Him the target of innumerable offenses, contempt and disrespect. We have treated Him as if he were not important. We have relegated Him to the category of things that are 'non-essential,' when in reality there is nothing more necessary for us than Jesus in the Eucharist. We have alienated the Eucharist from the people who now turn their backs on us because we have turned our backs on them. Christ has suffered in silence in the way we have treated Him, as if He were something we had to protect ourselves from."

God bless Fr. Sergio for having the courage for uttering the words that most bishops have refused to say.