A CROATIAN priest beat a member of his parish, threatened others with a rifle and crashed his car in a night of drunken rage, press reports said today. After an overnight quarrel in a restaurant in the central town of Slunj on Saturday , Josip Stefancic punched a guest in the face, cutting his eye. The priest, known in his parish as the Sheriff, then took a rifle and threatened other guests before fleeing in his car and crashing into a tree. When police arrived at the scene he refused a breath test. "I admit that I have made a mistake. However, everyone makes mistakes, politicians and even the Pope," said Stefancic who was, according to press reports, already involved in a series of similar incidents.