A Catholic priest caught on video kicking a black family out of church before a funeral was placed on leave Tuesday. Reverend Michael Briese allegedly told church attendees to "get the hell out of my church" just feet away from the deceased woman's open casket. The Maryland priest became visibly angry ahead of a funeral for Agnes Hicks at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Newport in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, after someone accidentally knocked over the church chalice. In a letter to the Maryland Independent, Briese said his anger "spilled out in a torrent" after seeing a "sacred chalice" damaged. Shanice Chisely, Hicks' daughter, told WTTG-TV that "all hell broke loose" after the mourner knocked over the church relic. "[Briese] literally got on the mic and said, 'There will be no funeral, there will be no mass, no repass, everyone get the hell out of my church.'" After the outburst, dozens of mourners spilled out into the parking lot with the casket and were met by police officers called by Briese, The Washington Post reported. Charles County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Diane Richardson told the newspaper that officers found around 200 to 250 people around the parking lot. The family was escorted by police to another location for a last-minute funeral service. The Archdiocese of Washington confirmed that Father Scott Woods performed a service at the Briscoe-Tonic Funeral Home. In his letter to the Maryland Independent, the pastor apologized for his actions, saying he was "profoundly sorry for my words and actions." "The man who canceled this family's funeral and dispatched them in anger, is not the man who hours before worked to minister to their needs in a time of grief. Instead of lifting them up, I let them down," Briese wrote. "For the anger and embarrassment I caused to that family, I am profoundly sorry." The Archdiocese of Washington released a statement Tuesday and said it had issued an apology to the family. "What occurred at Saint Mary's Parish this morning does not reflect the Catholic Church's fundamental calling to respect and uplift the God-given dignity of every person nor does that incident represent the pastoral approach the priests of the Archdiocese of Washington commit to undertake every day in their ministry," Reverend Michael Fisher, the auxiliary bishop-elect, wrote to the family. The letter continued: "With this letter, I want to reach out to you first to offer my prayers for your loved one that God will grant her a place in his kingdom of eternal light and love, and condolences to your family." The archdiocese also confirmed that Briese had been placed on administrative leave "pending the outcome of the archdiocese's investigation."<doc-sep>A family says a priest ordered everyone at a funeral out of a church, including the casket, after a guest knocked over a chalice. CHARLOTTE HALL, Md. - A priest kicked a funeral out of a Maryland church and the family says he disrespected the deceased. Before a funeral for Agnes Hicks could begin at St. Mary Catholic Church in Charlotte Hall last week, WTTG-TV reports a guest knocked over a chalice, damaging it and angering the Rev. Michael Briese. Hicks' daughter, Shanice Chisely, says Briese ordered everyone out and disrespected her deceased mother, saying "get this thing out of my church." Briese apologized in a letter to the editor in The Enterprise, saying anger "was the most inappropriate response." Theo Johnson, a cousin of Hicks, who was black, told The Enterprise that Briese, who is white, tried to explain he wasn't racist. Johnson said, "Nobody said anything about race. We were just saying he was being disrespectful."<doc-sep>“Some might dismiss these words, given the tenor of the words I uttered before the funeral that was to take place on Wednesday. That is a just part of the consequence I will bear for my behavior. Like all human beings, I, too, am broken in nature, make mistakes and, yes, I fail,” he wrote. “My recent actions and words were not borne of kindness, but a failure of my vow to serve the Lord and those entrusted to my care as a person and as priest. I am profoundly sorry for my words and actions. I pray for all in this community every day, and I can only ask that you pray for me, but also for other priests and ministers, and all who seek to serve those who suffer and struggle as we strive to build up the kingdom of God.”<doc-sep>
A Maryland priest threw a grieving family out of his church ahead of a funeral service for Agnes Hicks last week after someone accidentally knocked over the church chalice. In a video of the incident, Reverend Michael Briese can be seen arguing with the family of the deceased inside Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Charlotte Hall on June 27. According to Fox5, hundreds of people attended Hicks' funeral to pay their respects, but Reverend Briese ended the ceremony abruptly after one attendee knocked over the relic. "That's when all hell broke loose," said Shanice Chisely, Hicks' daughter. "[Briese] literally got on the mic and said, 'there will be no funeral, there will be no mass, no repass, everyone get the hell out of my church.'" Following the dispute, the Hicks family carried the casket out of the church before phoning police, who escorted them to another location for a last-minute service. The Hicks family were devastated by the incident. "This was uncalled for and it really hurt me," said Larry Hicks, the deceased's brother. "It really did, to see your loved one come there to rest and to be shut down like that." Tony Tonic and Kim Briscoe-Tonic, the funeral home's co-owners, told HuffPost that Briese was calling the funeral attendees "crackheads, prostitutes and thieves. I've been a funeral director for 30 years and I have never experienced anything like that." On Thursday, a day after the incident, the priest issued an open letter apology in the Maryland Independent to the family and community. "I am a Catholic priest and the pastor at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Newport in Charlotte Hall. I lost my temper at a moment when anger was the most inappropriate response to those people entrusted to my care at that moment of ministry. "I uttered words I never use, and treated people I have lived with and committed my life to serve in an unacceptable manner… Instead of care and compassion for the grieving family and friends, my focus turned to anger," Briese wrote. Briese did not immediately respond to request for comment.