Climate Activists interrupt Mass in Turin

Case information
Incident date
Country
Italy
Place
Turin
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
  • Morals
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Radical Left
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Other (text field)
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Time/Place/Location
Reported to Police
  • Unknown
Image credit: Il Fatto Quotidiano YouTube

On Sunday, December 3, a Mass held by Archbishop Roberto Repole was disrupted by climate activists. The protestors from the climate activist group "Extinction Rebellion" disrupted the church service in Turin Cathedral. During the Mass, the activists stood up one at a time, walked to the front, positioned themselves in front of the altar and started to read aloud passages from Pope Francis' "Laudato Si" and "Laudate Deum," both of which discuss climate change. The Archbishop of Turin said: "I am sorry that they decided to take the floor... without first wanting to talk to me and ask if they could intervene... I would have replied that at Mass we often pray for peace... but the Eucharistic celebration is not a suitable time to host public interventions." The Archbishop said that he initially let them speak before asking them to end so they could continue the celebration of the Mass.

Sources