By Michael Gryboski, Editor Tuesday, November 25, 2025

A Roman Catholic archdiocese has put a priest on administrative leave after he was arrested and accused of assaulting a woman during a donation drive.

The Archdiocese of Miami, Florida, released a statement on Monday in response to the arrest of 72-year-old Father Jesus Saldaña earlier this month.

“Father Jesus Saldana, pastor of St. Kevin’s Catholic Church, was arrested and charged with battery to a visitor stemming from an incident earlier this month in the parish parking lot near a bin collecting items for hurricane relief,” stated the archdiocese.

“So as not to give any appearance of interfering with the judicial process, the Archdiocese will have no further comment at this time other than to say that this incident has not interfered with the normal operations or safety of St. Kevin’s Parish and School.”

The archdiocese went on to explain that, until there is a “resolution of these charges,” Saldaña “will be on administrative leave.”

According to news outlet WPLG Local 10, Saldaña was arrested on Nov. 6 following an incident at an event in which people were dropping off hurricane relief donations.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office report noted that the incident began when a 65-year-old woman who had dropped off a donation “wanted to take photos of the donations with a politically-inclined poster.”

“[Saldaña] approached the victim and told her she was not allowed to take photographs and to leave the premises. The victim then asked for her donations back and a verbal argument ensued,” according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office report cited by WPLG.

“Subsequently, the victim began to take photographs of [Saldaña]. At that time, [he] lunged at the victim and a scuffle ensued.”

Although bystanders had separated the two, Saldaña reached inside her car for “unknown reasons” with the priest continuing “to batter her while she was sitting in the driver’s seat.”  

“[Saldaña] attempted to pull the victim out of her vehicle and during the struggle, he ripped off the vehicle’s rear view mirror. Additionally, [he] pulled the vehicle’s gear selector, causing it to malfunction,” continued the police report.

According to authorities, the priest finally let go of the woman when she bit his wrist. While she was not visibly harmed, the alleged victim would later be hospitalized for cardiac issues.

Saldaña was charged with burglary of an occupied conveyance, battery on a person aged 65 or older and misdemeanor criminal mischief. He denied the allegations when speaking with police.

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/catholic-priest-arrested-for-assault-put-on-leave-by-archdiocese.html