From ANH:
Occupy Vancouver movement almost takes over Catholic church
Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miler [Miller] anticipated the march of protesters and requested extra police protection outside the cathedral to prevent the disruption of the mass.
Organizers of the Occupy Vancouver movement almost took over the Holy Rosary Cathedral in downtown Vancouver on Sunday morning.
Vancouver Police stopped the protesters from disrupting mass at the Catholic church. A spokesman for the group, which renamed itself Occupy Vatican, said the purpose of the aborted church takeover was to bring to the Catholic Church’s attention the thousands of residential school survivors who suffered under the clergy. [In most civilized places it is illegal to interrupt a religious service in a church.]
However, some members of the Occupy Vancouver movement said that the Occupy Vatican movement did not secure consensus at their Saturday night general assembly and was not supported by the majority of protestors.
Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miler anticipated the march of protesters and requested extra police protection outside the cathedral to prevent the disruption of the mass.
[…]
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Which Vancouver is this? Washington, USA or British Columbia Canada?
Abp. Miller’s Archdiocese is Vancouver, BC.
And so it begins…
Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio, contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps Militiae Coelestis, satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.
“Aborted” church takeover, it says.
I hope the seminary staffs across the world are training their sems to be martyrs, as did The Venerabile, Douay, Valladolid. If these administrations, instructors and spiritual directors are not doing so, they are in cloud-cuckoo-land and doing their young men a great disservice.
Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miler anticipated the march of protesters and requested extra police protection outside the cathedral to prevent the disruption of the mass.
And…where were the VPD?? RCMP???
Immediately outside my church is a frequent staging ground for rallies/marches. Sometimes this happens during the Saturday noon Mass, less frequently on Sundays. It is not the Cathedral but it is just not that hard to imagine it happening.
On the other hand sometimes the opposite happens. On the occasion of a marijuana rally I am aware of someone who came into the church and went to confession for the first time in a long time. And on other rally/march occasions some participants (a small number) who did not seem to be regular members of our parish have come in and attended Mass.
APX:
According to the article, the VPD were there.
Video news coverage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH3BHRTp5X8
First, I have attended mass at this Cathedral, and it is really beautiful, but not in the best part of town. Second, it is in fact a Criminal Code offense in Canada to disrupt a religious service. Third, as a former copper myself, I would venture to speculate that an undercover police officer obtained advance warning of the planned disruption, and leaked it to the Church, which in turn made a formal request for protection. It would be SOP for a UC to be among the protesters.
The Criminal Code of Canada does indeed make it an indictable offense to disrupt divine worship, though some cops in other parts of the country (e.g., Quebec) are so pusillanimous that they often avoid laying charges when it involves Catholic Churches. If, however, it were, say, a mosque being threatened….
Thank you, Holy Spirit! No doubt our gracious Holy Spirit proactively inspired Archbishop Michael Miller to pass along a heads up to the police.
God protects His own. {hugs}
@ AAJD
The Criminal Code of Canada does indeed make it an indictable offense to disrupt divine worship, though some cops in other parts of the country (e.g., Quebec) are so pusillanimous that they often avoid laying charges when it involves Catholic Churches. If, however, it were, say, a mosque being threatened….
Even if they would be charged, the odds of them not getting something like Alt Measures, or some other lame slap on the wrist in this country are pretty slim. It seems to take a lot to actually go to
jail, sorry, a correctional facility for rehabilitation.At least occasionally, the offense of disrupting divine worship is taken seriously. Such was the case with a few lay Catholics (not in Vancouver) some time ago who attempted to receive Communion kneeling. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in their favour. (I have read the ruling.) Some consider that unfortunate occurrence – the legal case, not the kneeling – one of the more noteworthy causes of the issuance of Redemptionis Sacramentum.
“However, some members of the Occupy Vancouver movement said that the Occupy Vatican movement did not secure consensus at their Saturday night general assembly and was not supported by the majority of protestors.”
This reminds me of the scenes in Reds, the film, where Beatty witnesses the rudderless chaos during the meetings of the commissars at their table, as well as the union hall meetings back in the red red red US of A.
But regarding the stymied attempt itself, I see that the Cathedral is called Holy Rosary. I guess her foot kept the snakes out of her vestibule. By that I mean the demons whipping the souls of the protesters’, not the humans themselves, for whom our Lord died.
I reckon good St. Joseph was also on scene, faithful and true.
Remember some years ago, when a mob of radical feminists invaded the Cathedral of Mary, Queen of the World in Montreal? The invaders started trashing the House of God, and one or two male tourists (I think they were Americans) defended the Tabernacle so the Blessed Sacrament wouldn’t be profaned.
I don’t know if the Montreal police caught the perpetrators of this outrage.
Good thing that His Excellency in Vancouver cut the ‘Occupy’ idiots off at the pass!
This movement is getting out of control. God forbid anyone gets the idea of actually ‘Occupying’ the Vatican or St. Peter’s Basilica!
Where are the ‘real men’ who will get rid of these protesters? Sweep ’em out of their encampments with liberal doses of tear gas and water cannons!