Webster seems very contrite about the whole thing, I guess desperate people grasp for desperate things:
WFTV Florida reports:
"A Catholic student group is facing hazing charges after a worshiper allegedly used force while trying to rescue a communion wafer from a student leader smuggling it out of Mass.
Cook said his hazing complaint cited a UCF anti-hazing policy banning the “forced consumption of any food,” in which the “initiation or admission into or affiliation with a University of Central Florida organization may be directly or indirectly conditioned.”
The rule presumably was intended to prevent fraternities from force-feeding pledges disgusting food. But Cook said the rule is clear, and applies to all UCF clubs, including the Catholic Campus Ministries religious group. He insists the group is guilty, because members ordered him to consume the Eucharist to remain at Mass.
Nearly two weeks after the incident, UCF spokesman Grant Heston confirmed the school was still reviewing the charges and had not yet decided whether they’d be dismissed or brought through a formal trial conducted by administrators with UCF’s Office of Student Conduct.
Recent groups convicted of hazing charges at UCF were fraternities, which faced several years of suspension as punishment.
Cook also filed charges accusing the Catholic club of violating the school’s underage alcohol policy by serving communal wine to underage students.
Cook is also facing a more public set of charges filed by one of his peers in UCF’s Student Government Association.
SGA Officer Anthony Furbush filed an impeachment affidavit against Cook claiming Cook violated SGA ethics when he announced he was an SGA official during Mass, and cited that reason, along with the fact Mass was held in a public campus hall, as why he didn’t have to leave when asked.
Cook denied that allegation. Hearings on the impeachment charge could begin Wednesday. If convicted, Cook would be stripped of his SGA position.
Cook, who said he decided to return the Eucharist after receiving threats against his life, and afterlife, from angry Catholics maintains he did nothing wrong, and still deserves an apology for being “attacked” during Mass. Cook also denied he apologized for his actions, as UCF officials claimed he did in a statement.
However, he said he’d be open to meeting with the student church members who filed the disruptive conduct charges against him, in hopes of working out a deal for both sides to drop the charges, before they end up in administrators’ hands, where suspension and expulsion would be on the table."
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5 comments:
I would ask Webster cook and his parents (if they are still reading this blog) to please cease with the lawsuit. it is frivolous and would do more harm to you in trying to fund it than if you were to offer a contrite apology. if you persist in still being obstinate after what I would consider a gracious offer you are only condemning yourself. The evidence against your actions is overwhelming and the precedence to defend the catholic church against desecration stretches back about 2000 years worth of history. I ask you honestly what is it that you are seeking from all this? I ask for the other blog readers to continue in praying for the Cook family to come to a peaceful resolution to this issue and that both sides may come to the table in humility and charity.
The is young man is out there like Pluto man. The hubris! He steals the Eucharist to do God knows what to it & HE thinks he is owed an apology?
Where is Dr. Cook? He seems to not be on the ball when it comes to his son. This is insanity.
Of course it clearly shows the "apology" young Master Cook made was hardly sincere and there is little reason to believe the Cooks are acting in good will.
-BenYachov
His latest actions demonstrate to me that he feels his actions were not wrong. A practicing Catholic would understand that those who come to the altar to receive Communion are bound by Catholic teaching to consume the Sacred Host...not play with it and take it home as a Pet. If a court decides he did nothing wrong from a LEGAL standpoint, at the very least he has committed an offense against his Church. He does not seem to see this, so either he is not really a Catholic, or he simply doesn't care. If that's the case...that he simply doesn't care, It is difficult to have empathy for this boy at this point.
The comments from the poster claiming to be Webster's father just make the whole thing worse. We are asked to believe that Webster was brought up Catholic and received his first communion AND at the same time does not know what is implied by getting in the communion line and receiving the sacred Body. Either his instruction, both and home and in his parish, was abysmally poor, or he knew that what he did was going to make trouble. I believe such desecration can lead to excommunication, though I am not sure. Maybe Dr. Cook could ask his priest and get back to us.
Further, the alleged father's appeal that we lighten up somehow on a "teenager" is problematic. If Webster is an immature youngster not responsible for his actions then he needs to be taken in hand. If his father is going to appeal to Webster's immaturity, then his father also needs to explain to Webster the things he ought to have been taught years ago: including manners, courtesy, honesty, integrity, responsibility. I don't think one can have it both ways. Either he's an immature clown and needs, for his own good to have his chain yanked, or he's of age and responsible and must be prepared to confront the predictable consequences of his actions.
As it is, I think it is appropriate to comment on this man and his behavior frankly.
I find it quite telling that Webster's father stated that their family believes in the freedom to practice religion, and yet Webster is filing underage drinking charges?? Please. I am surprised that people were not laughing in his face at that one.
The tiny sip of wine is probably the equivalent to the alcohol in a dose of nyquil or a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
This is ridiculous and I am personally offended that university officials haven't stepped in.
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