A video posted by an American conservative Catholic user on X stirred a row after he said he refused to receive the Holy Eucharist from an Indian woman and the reason he provided was regarding the lack of hygiene. Mike also said he crossed the aisle to take the Eucharist from a White male priest.The user named Mike shared a clip in which he describes his actions during a Mass. The video was captioned: “I refused to receive the Eucharist from an Indian at mass today.”In the clip, Mike says it’s an issue for him personally if a priest is an Indian: “So today at Mass I refused to receive the Eucharist from an Indian woman who was distributing communion.” He then adds: “Look, I don’t care how holy he is, how much of a priest he is — I just don’t trust the hygiene.”Mike then made some “racist” and “xenophobic” remarks on India and Indians, saying: “You know how they live over there, the streets, the fecal matter everywhere, the open defecation problem… I’m not putting that in my mouth, even if it’s supposed to be the Body of Christ.”The man also claimed there are political beliefs involved, stating: “This is about the Great Replacement, it’s about keeping our churches ours.” Mike said he would not allow the US to turn into India: “If that makes me a bad Catholic, so be it — I’d rather be a bad Catholic than let this country turn into India. Deal with it.” The comments faced backlash. Advocacy group ‘Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network’ reposted the video and criticised the racism directed at Indians, including Indian Christians. The group wrote: “A lesson to Indian Christians who think they are white-adjacent because they are Christians and not Hindus – you’ll always be treated as Indians! They’ll be racist to you because of your skin colour! Your religion has ZERO value to a gora!”In Catholic belief, the Holy Eucharist is one of the most important sacraments. During Mass, bread and wine are consecrated and received as the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The practice traces its origins to the Last Supper, when Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples. Indian-origin priests serve in large numbers across American churches, including Catholic parishes.
