In the actual moment, I’m unsure that would’ve worked. It’s akin to pulling bear spray out in the middle of being mauled. Does that work on the bear at that point? No. The hosts were being desecrated as he watched. He tried to remove them from her, but she advanced and grabbed several.
If he hadn’t done what he did to protect the hosts, they may have been desecrated further.
If they charge him and it goes to trial, I would vote “not guilty” if I had the chance.
The woman should be the one in jail for disrupting things and for desecrating the Body of Christ and the Church. It’s a hate crime. She knew what she was doing. It was her second attempt in a day.
I agree, I give a lot of leeway to a person trying to do the right thing in a screwed up situation. Not guilty in my mind as well. My post outlined what I think would have been the optimal proactive response. Note that the person seems to have been at an earlier mass and caused trouble then. Unfortunately priests are so hesitant to not give communion that they put the Eucharist at risk of sacrilege (and that might not have been the case here). If I’m not able to receive communion at a mass because some crazy person wants to “make a statement “- great. God can give me grace for that mortification as well.