Three Armed Policemen Burst Into a Parisian church to Stop a Mass
Bishop Aupetit strongly denounced the incident, recalling that the law prohibits "police officers from entering a church with weapons".
Abbé Philippe de Maistre, parish priest of Saint-André-de-l'Europe parish in Paris (8th), has been broadcasting on social networks the Sunday Mass he celebrates with a few concelebrants, confined in his church, for his parishioners who have been deprived of public Masses since the beginning of the confinement. But last Sunday, April 19, in the middle of the celebration, the parish priest was surprised to see policemen burst into his church to order him to stop the mass.
"There were seven of us: myself, a servant, a singer, an organist, and three parishioners to give the reply and do the readings. In the middle of Mass, three armed policemen entered the church," says Father Philippe de Maistre, still shocked. Now, the police authority in a church is the parish priest! Apart from the fire brigade, the police can't enter until called by the parish priest."
The parish priest also alerted the Archbishop of Paris, Archbishop Michel Aupetit, who strongly denounced the incident on Radio Notre-Dame: "The police have entered the church with weapons, yet there is a formal prohibition on the police entering a church with weapons. There were no terrorists! We must keep a cool head and stop this circus. Otherwise we're going to speak up and (...) bark very loudly!".
https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/trois-policiers-font-irruption-dans-une-eglise-parisienne-pour-demander-l-arret-d-une-messe-20200422
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