Ear Bitten Off as Priests Fight for Parking Space

What a scene to behold: Two retired Catholic priests fought so viciously over a parking spot that one allegedly bit off the other's ear, reports Australia's News Network. Father Thomas Byrne, 80, battled 81-year-old Father Thomas Joseph Smith in their building complex yesterday in Perth, Australia, police say. After the fight, Byrne told Smith to pick something up off the ground; only when he got home did Smith realize it was his ear. So he wrapped it in a towel and rushed to a hospital for surgery.

When the two showed up in court, Byrne was sporting a black eye and Smith his newly reattached ear. A judge charged Byrne with grievous bodily harm and imposed tough bail restrictions: no going within 30 feet of Father Smith, no threatening him, and no communicating in any way. A neighbor in their complex couldn't believe it: "I was shocked because we're all in our 80s and retired priests," he said. "It's very quiet, although they are always driving in and out of the complex."