A Good Friday service in south London was damaged up by police over apparent breaches of Covid-19 laws.
Footage uploaded on YouTube confirmed Metropolitan law enforcement officials addressing worshippers on the Christ the King Polish Catholic church in Balham, south London, late on Friday afternoon.
The video reveals an officer telling the congregation that they might be fined £200 or arrested for the potential rule-breaking. He mentioned: “This gathering is sadly illegal beneath the coronavirus laws we have now at present. I counsel, women and gents, that although it’s Good Friday, and I recognize you wish to worship, that this gathering is illegal, so please might you allow the constructing now. Thank you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beQRIJ7Ss8UPolice break up Good Friday church service in London – video
A press release posted on the church’s web site on Saturday mentioned that they complied with the order to shut the service and for folks to go house, however insisted it had met all authorities necessities. It claimed the Met officers had misunderstood laws on church companies in the course of the pandemic.
They mentioned: “We consider, nevertheless, that the police brutally exceeded their powers by issuing their warrant for no good cause.”
They added that they’d been in contact with the Polish Catholic Mission of England and Wales and the police concerning the incident and had been ready for a extra detailed rationalization.
In steering issued to church buildings earlier than Holy Week, which encompasses the Easter celebrations, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales mentioned: “Care needs to be taken for the numbers of individuals current for this liturgy, which may be very widespread with the devoted. If vital, extra celebrations will be thought-about, considering the dangers related for the devoted in travelling to and from church.”
A spokesman for the Metropolitan police mentioned no fines got, and the pressure was participating with church authorities over the Easter weekend. He added: “Officers attended and located a lot of folks contained in the church. Some folks weren’t carrying masks and people current had been clearly not socially distanced.
“We are notably involved concerning the threat of transmission of the Covid-19 virus because of giant indoor gatherings at which individuals are not socially distanced and a few are usually not carrying masks. As such, officers made the choice that it was not protected for that exact service to proceed.”
