SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - The mother of a one-year-old girl has accused Pope Benedict XVI of trying to kidnap her child in the final hours of the pontiff’s 9-day visit to Australia.

Velveeta Lugosi-Swayne told authorities that the holy father reached out of the Pope Mobile, grabbed her daughter by the head, and tried to pull the child into the vehicle.

“He asked her if she liked communion wafers,” said a still-shaken Lugosi-Swayne, “and before I knew it, she was gone.”

Ron Vassel, an American tourist who stopped to snap pictures of the Pope while en route to a “Lost” fan club convention, grabbed the girl’s feet and prevented the pontiff from abducting her.

“I was glad to help,” said Vassel, who described himself as a devout Catholic.  ”I just hope I don’t get excommunicated for this.”

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