Video: Relatives snatch baby from priest after he slaps it for crying during baptism

In a bizarre incident, a baby’s relatives were forced to wrestle the child away from a French priest who slapped it during baptism.

You can view the video here.

In the video, the clergyman can be seen hitting the child in the face with his left hand, after he lost his temper when the child would not stop crying during the ceremony.

The outraged man and woman, who appear to be the child’s parents then take the child away from the clutches of the priest.

It is not known when the footage was filmed but it was captured in a church where the ceremony was conducted in French.

The clip shows, at the beginning, a woman, most probably the baby’s mother, holding However, it soon becomes clear that the child is not enjoying the process as it can be heard screaming loudly.

The clergyman begins to look irritated at the loud noise and raises his voice to be heard over the baby's crying, apparently speaking directly to the child.

The child's relatives still appear to be smiling as the priest brings the baby's head towards his, but the baby reacts badly and flails its right arm towards the woman.

The priest can be heard asking the child to calm down.

The priest, by now visibly annoyed, then holds the baby's face in his hands, looks it in the eyes and slaps it hard on the cheek with his left hand. 

His aggression prompts an immediate reaction as the baby cries more loudly, its relatives look shocked and another woman comes over to try to calm the situation by putting her hand on the clergyman's chest as if to hold him back.

The man who appears to be the child's father then steps in, prising the child out of the priest's grip, even as the cleric struggles for possession of the child.