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The UCF student who removed a Eucharist from a Catholic Campus Ministry mass and made national headlines is still caught in the wake of his actions.
Webster Cook, who is a Student Government Association senator, is now facing an impeachment investigation by the rest of the Senate as a result of an affidavit filed against him due to the incident.
In response to the complaints filed against him, Cook brought hazing charges against Catholic Campus Ministry, filing with the Office of Student Conduct regarding the physical force used against him. The charges were formally dropped yesterday.
The Legislative, Judicial and Rules Committee met yesterday and voted 5-2-0 to send the complaint affidavit against Cook to SGA Senate, where it will be investigated.
During the meeting, the committee members disagreed over the significance that religion was playing into the situation. SGA Sen. Ben Collard said that the circumstances of taking the Eucharist were only hyped because it was a religious symbol.
"Should he really be impeached because he didn't eat a cracker?" Collard said.
SGA Official Anthony Furbush filed the complaint affidavit against Cook on Monday.
"I'd like to see him resign and stop wasting people's time," Furbush said after the meeting.
Cook and a friend decided to attend Mass on June 29.
"We had been there for about 45 to 50 minutes before Communion took place," Cook said. "I explained to my friend that he should not accept Communion because he is not Catholic."
Cook's friend accompanied him to the altar without accepting Communion, but Cook was going to bring the Eucharist to his seat so that his friend could see it.
"I thought I was avoiding a problem," Cook said.
Cook said the woman giving out the Eucharist grasped his elbow, and a woman next to him ordered him to eat it. According to Catholic Campus Ministry worker Michelle Ducker's statement in the affidavit, Cook pretended to consume it.
When Cook returned to his seat, Ducker realized that he had not eaten it and moved toward him. Cook said that Ducker told him that if he did not eat it, she was going to make a huge scene. According to Cook, she tried to remove the Eucharist from his hand, and he asked her to stop touching him.
UCF Associate Campus Minister Joshua Swallows asked Cook and his friend to leave. Cook said he was insulted and demanded an apology. Swallows said in his statement that he was following policy to make sure that the Eucharist was not going to be used for devil worship.
Cook and his friend attempted to explain their intention, but Swallows informed them that they had to leave.
Cook left with the Eucharist in his pocket.
Cook said he wanted an apology and he was holding the Eucharist as collateral. He gave the Eucharist back a week later without receiving an apology.
This incident has erupted in not only the UCF community, but also nationally. The Catholic Campus Ministry was extremely upset by Cook's taking of the Eucharist.
Rev. Peyton Johnson, the pastor of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Tarpon Springs, who also has a doctorate degree in theology, explained the significance of the Eucharist by describing transubstantiation.
"In transubstantiation, Catholics actually see the elements of Communion, being the bread and cup, as the blood and body of Jesus Christ. We consume him," Johnson said. "The elements take on the being of Jesus and deserve all respect and awe."
The Catholic Church views taking the Eucharist as stealing the body of Christ. The Church typically does not permit the Eucharists to be taken away from the altar in fear of dropping or desecrating its holiness.
"Most Protestants see Communion as representative of Christ's body and blood, which differs from Catholic views, but all Catholics and Protestants believe in the very real presence of Jesus during Communion and hold it with high reverence," Johnson said.
Cook said the story keeps changing from the Catholic side.
"The women claimed they did not grab me when speaking to Kerry Welch, director of the Office of Student Involvement, which conflicted with the previous report filed," Cook said. "It's wrong to initiate physical force against others based on assumptions."
Since this incident, Cook said he has received hundreds of e-mails through both Facebook and his SGA account that pose as threats.
"In one day, I got about 70 messages, none to my face," Cook said. "They're coming from all over, not just the UCF community."
The SGA Senate will meet at 9 p.m. today for their normal meeting in the Student Union, which will now include Cook's impeachment investigation.
Additional reporting by Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Riley.
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