Queen of All Saints / X
CV NEWS FEED // A man was arrested in Fennimore, Wisconsin, after causing a disturbance Feb. 6 in a local Catholic church and resisting deputies who came to deal with the situation.
WKOW News, ABC’s Madison, Wisconsin, affiliate, reports that Aaron Peterson, 38, was apprehended Feb. 6 while attempting to break into a locked room inside St. Mary’s Catholic Church, demanding to speak with a priest.
When Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies entered the scene, Peterson was shouting profanities. He refused to identify himself and threw metal candle holders toward a deputy, which did not hit him. Peterson continued to resist arrest, so deputies used a taser to subdue him.
According to a Sheriff’s Office report that WGLR shared, Peterson suffered a head injury when he fell backward off a raised area and hit his head on the floor after he ignored orders from a deputy. Peterson was sent to Grant Regional Health Center. No deputies were injured.
Peterson faces charges of disorderly conduct and resisting/obstructing an officer.
Last week, a man named Joshua James Sommers was arrested after attacking a priest during a healing service in Spokane, Washington, as CatholicVote previously reported.
However, recent reports indicate that Sommers suffers from schizophrenia, according to Fox News. A mother and son invited him into the healing service when they realized he was living on the streets.
Fr. David Gaines, who was attacked by Sommers, told Fox News that the night was very cold with the area’s first big snow and that the mother and son had brought Sommers in for the healing novena, hoping it would help him.
“I’m grateful that they brought him in, on God’s promise,” he added. “Now he came to a healing novena, and now he’s getting a ton of prayers. … God’s promise allows everything to happen. He doesn’t make evil things happen, but he allows bad things to happen for his greater glory for our salvation, salvation of souls, and hopefully for the salvation of Josh.”
Fox News noted that Fr. Gaines peacefully dodged Sommers’ blows and repeatedly told his attacker “it’s okay” and to calm down.
Fr. Gaines commented, “I don’t know, honestly, where that came from – I could say the Holy Spirit, perhaps. I presumed that there was some kind of mental illness, because I’ve never seen this man in my life.”
The priest asked for continued prayers for Sommers, adding, “[We need to] love those who are mentally ill as Christ commands. Part of that love is to offer prayers and sacrifices for him.”
