French riot police were seen brutally dragging a priest in ceremonial dress out a of a Parisian church by one arm in images that have infuriated Catholics in France.
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.
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.
As France mourned for the death of the beloved priest, hundreds of people reacted with fury to the images, which many viewed as a symbol of French culture under the rule of a left-wing government.
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.
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.
Government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said Wednesday that the church was not part of France’s historical heritage and stressed that the association had taken the decision to destroy it.

Rules and laws apply ‘to everyone in the same way,’ he said.
But the pictures of police dragging the priest out of the church were symbolic to many people, and lead to fresh pressure of Francoise Hollande to crack down on ISIS amid the increasing threat to the public.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk