Help with "Grant File Access" problem in Microsoft Word

I am trying to use AppleScript to sequentially open Microsoft Word documents in a folder to perform actions on them. However, I am getting an error related to access privileges whenever the script tries to open each file. Specifically, I get this:

I have searched these forums and google for how to circumvent this, but have not had success with any of the existing suggestions. I am hoping someone here can set me in the right direction.

Thank you.

macOS: 10.13.1
Microsoft Word 2016: 15.40


tell application "Finder"
	set fl to files of folder POSIX file "/Users/username/Desktop/Test Data Summaries" as alias list
end tell

repeat with f in fl
	set theFile to f as alias
	tell application "Microsoft Word"
		activate
		delay 1
		open theFile password document "password"
		delay 5
		close active document
	end tell
end repeat