Was the ceremony celebrated at Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet illegal?

• The priest of the fundamentalist church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, in Paris, was fined after having celebrated a ceremony in full confinement, on the night of April 11 to 12, 2020.
• He told the police that he would contest the fine because, according to him, the parish officials had assured a lawyer that it was legal to celebrate a mass at this time.
• 20 Minutes takes stock of this case which has caused a lot of ink to flow.

A ceremony in Latin, organized in full confinement, which caused a lot of ink to flow. During the night of April 11 to 12, 2020, the police intervened at the fundamentalist church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, in Paris, where a ceremony was taking place and fined the parish priest. The information, which appeared on the website of the newspaper Le Point , was taken up in an AFP dispatch which was subsequently published on numerous press sites, including that of 20 Minutes . Since then, some readers have written to reproach us for "repeating false information".

Columnist for the far-right newspaper Current values , Father Danziec considers in an article that it is a "media witch hunt" and denounces the "usual delusions of the left press" even a "fake news " What really happened that night in the 5th arrondissement of the capital? Was this celebration really illegal, as the authorities claim? 20 Minutes  takes stock.

What happened ?

According to a police report consulted by 20 Minutes , the officers sent to the site overnight found at first "light inside, as well as music and several voices". But the doors being closed, they could not enter the church. At 1:25 in the morning, they saw four people leaving the premises by taking an exit, rue des Bernardins. When questioned, the latter indicated that they had "attended the office given by the parish priest in front of twenty people".

The police then presented themselves to the priest who officiated in the Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet church. The latter explains "having held masses all week". They were "authorized" by his hierarchy who "studied the various orders" made by the government with lawyers. He adds that "the masses take place in front of twenty people and that they are broadcast on YouTube".

But the police camp on their position. They remind the priest that it is "forbidden to perform a mass with the presence of the public" and "only masses with less than twenty people are authorized for funeral ceremonies". Before verbalizing it for "opening a meeting place despite a temporary closure measure". The parish priest informed the agents that he would contest this fine.

This night at # Paris05, a service was held in a church despite the containment measures. The police found the doors closed at the time of the check, but fined the ecclesiastical authority which officiated after the mass. #SoyezResponsables pic.twitter.com/UNqh8EHkFp

Is it ok to celebrate mass during confinement?

Contacted by 20 Minutes , the Ministry of the Interior emphasizes that places of worship "are not necessarily closed" during this period. The faithful can go there "during their walk authorized as an exception" provided that they are "in very small numbers" inside and that they pray there "in isolation".

On the other hand, adds Place Beauvau, "there must be no fortuitous regrouping or organized gathering" such as a "cult ceremony". The only exception: funeral ceremonies are still allowed "but limited to 20 people, respecting" barrier gestures "".

So is this celebration illegal?

Still according to the Ministry of the Interior, an office "may be celebrated by a minister of religion, but behind closed doors, in order to be broadcast by the media", especially during the Easter holidays. In Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, the ceremony was announced and broadcast live on YouTube. Difficult, therefore, to speak of "clandestine mass".

In the images, we can see that the pews of the church are almost empty. In any case, it seems that only religious were present. Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet has indeed indicated on its website that the offices "are no longer accessible to the faithful until further notice" due to "government measures imposed to combat the epidemic of coronavirus".

So what's the problem?

"The minister of religion can be assisted by a few people, if necessary and in the smallest possible number, to proceed with the recording of the ceremony," add the services of Christophe Castaner. However, on the images, we can count that at least 22 people were inside the church that night. At Notre-Dame-de-Paris, where a mass also organized for Easter, "there were only about 10 people, technical team included," said a police source at 20 Minutes . According to this source, if the parish priest of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet was verbalized, it is because there were "too many people" in the church.

Contacted by 20 Minutes this Friday, the managers of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet had not answered the questions sent by e-mail at the time of publication of this article.

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• Paris
• Religion
• Police
• Catholicism
• Christian
• Containment
• Coronavirus
• Society
• Church