Hoverboards are infiltrating many spheres of society, but this priest’s attempt to roll out the gadget in the Catholic Church.
Bizarre footage of the holy roller zooming around during Christmas Eve mass at Our Lady of Miraculous Medal in Biñan Parish in the Philippines has spread like wildfire on social media.
And while throngs of churchgoers appear delighted with the sermon, the unnamed priest caught the ire of his local Manila diocese, who suspended him over the incident.
In an online statement, the Diocese of San Pablo condemned the incident and said it was a violation
of the ‘highest form of worship.’
‘The priest said that it was a wake up call for him; he acknowledged that his action was not right and promised that it will not happen again,’ the diocese said in a statement on its Facebook page.
‘He will be out of the parish and will spend some time to reflect on this past event. He would like to apologise for what happened.’
The video has clocked up 14 million views on the Flow Cartagena Facebook page and divided commenters over the suitability of the priest’s performance. Hoverboards were one of the top Christmas presents this year despite a storm of controversy surrounding the risk of falling off the battery-powered scooters – not to mention their propensity to spontaneously combust.
The Philippines is considering banning the self-balancing devices over these escalating safety concerns.