Catholic rampage after protestant refuses mass wafer

Indonesian police fired warning shots to break up a mob of hundreds of stone-throwing Roman Catholics angered after a Protestant man refused to eat a communion wafer during Mass today.

Ten policemen were injured and several police stations were damaged during the clash in Atambua, a town in East Nusatenggara province bordering East Timor, said provincial police chief Brigadier General Edward Aritonang.

Catholics at the Imaculata Cathedral in Atambua were angered when a Protestant who attended their Mass refused the wafer, Aritonang said.

After the service ended, worshippers and others tried to attack the man, identified only as Jacob, but he was taken to a priest’s chambers until police arrived, the police chief said.

As police led the man away, the crowd fought with them to try to wrest the man away, but failed, he said.

The man was being questioned by police in the East Nusatenggara provincial capital of Kupang.

Christians make up about 10% of Indonesia’s 210 million people; Muslims comprise about 8 %.

Wafers at Mass represent Jesus Christ’s body and are given to worshippers in memory of his sacrifice.