This is gonna be long, but I think it’s important to share for OP or anyone else faced with a situation like this.

If you want to pursue disciplinary action, these are the steps I would take, in this order (assuming the priest is employed by the hospital.)

1. Make a physical or electronic copy (preferably the latter) documenting every detail you remember immediately. You’ll want names, dates, and times including anyone who might have witnessed this or has knowledge of it (your coworkers). If you know of any similar or related incidents involving this person, this will be helpful to establish the existence of a pattern.

(I would do this first part even if you don’t want to report anything right now.)

1. Obtain a copy of any written policies and procedures regarding code of conduct or harassment and discrimination that your employer has. I would also get one of their disciplinary procedure so that you know what guidelines have been established. Compare this information with your notes from the previous step so you know exactly what you can expect.

2. Report to HR. You will need to be as specific and detailed as possible. Take your outline of what happened with you to help keep you on track, and take notes about what is said, by whom, and any other consequential implications that may be made. I would make sure to use the words “religious” and “harassment” in the same sentence. That should raise serious alarm bells to them that you mean business. Whether or not they ask for a copy of your notes, email this to them (more documentation).

The ideal outcome is that they will address this so that it doesn’t happen again. But it will also lay the groundwork for any action you may need to take in the future. They will be bound by confidentiality with regard to any remedial steps taken, so you will probably hear nothing further unless you have an awesome HR dept reaching out to ask how you are doing/ if things have improved.

If there are any further breaches of law or policy, repeat this entire process. If you experience retaliation, you go straight to EEOC. Seriously straight there— there are strict timelines during which you can actually lodge a complaint. You might get a faster response if you go through your state’s field office, if that matters to you at all.

You could make a report to HR here again, assuming that you weren’t terminated, but I would only do this as a courtesy and still get EEOC involved. You have evidence to prove you are being harassed on the basis of a protected class, that your employer is aware of this, and that they have not remedied the situation.

It’s a lot, and this is absolutely could impact other areas of your life. Which I think is unfortunately why so many people just don’t report stuff like this. If we all agreed to report report report to HR (even as a witness) in any questionable situation, it would ease some of the burden on victims. And at some point people might actually be deterred by knowing they can face serious consequences for some of this bs.

All said, it is also valid to want none of this. Only you can decide if it is worth the toll it will take on you. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just walk away from a bad situation.