Religion

OMG! French Police Officers Drags Priest on the Floor Out of Church Just Days After ISIS Slaughtered Another (Photos)

Published

8 years ago

August 4, 2016

French police officers have left people in great shock and caused outrage after it dragged a Catholic priest on the floor out of a church.

In shocking images taken in France, French riot police were seen brutally dragging a priest in ceremonial dress out a of a Parisian church by one arm leaving Catholics in France very angry.

Dailymail reports that Jean-Francois Billot was among twenty people protesting over the demolition of the 100-year-old St Rita, but police arrived with batons and helmets to forcibly remove the congregation yesterday.

He was dragged along on the ground along many others as police brutalized the protesters. It happened just hours apart from the funeral of Father Jacques Hamel, who was knifed to death by ISIS-inspired attacker in his church in Normandy as he celebrated Mass last week.

However, the incident has caused outrage as Catholics reacted angrily as many believe the police officers used too much force.

Grobabal wrote: ‘Hollande has completed its work of destruction of the national cohesion! The puffy Bravo! #HollandeDemission.’

Breton de souche wrote: ‘Imagine the riots, looting and whining of Muslims if they evacuated mosque.’

Christian Coulon said: ‘The image of the priest being manhandled has toured the international media. Think the Pope would find this excessive.’

Before the forceful arrest, the group had barricaded themselves inside Saint Rita’s church in a last-ditch effort to ward off the wrecking ball after a marathon tug-of-war with the owners.

Police said the evacuation was completed without incident, but politicians of the Republicans political party said they had witnessed rough treatment of the group.

‘Several were even dragged along the ground,’ they said in a statement.

Republican deputy secretary general Eric Ciotti accused France’s Socialist government of being ‘without a soul and without bearings’ for allowing the eviction to go ahead.

Saint Rita, built in 1900, had been the sanctuary of Gallicans, traditionalist Catholics who profess to practice the faith as it existed in medieval times, celebrating mass in Latin, but they are not recognised by the Vatican.

The church’s owner, the Association of Catholic and Apostolic Chapels, had decided to replace the structure with a housing development, and it was shut in April 2015.

But Abbot Guillaume de Tanouarn, who used to bless cats, dogs, birds and even camels on the first Sunday in November according to the Gallican rite, led resistance to the demolition.