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	Police End Church Protests, Arrest Parishioners WDSU January 6, 2009 http://www.wdsu.com/news/18422070/detail.html [With two videos, links to previous articles and videos, and text of archdiocesan statement.] NEW ORLEANS — Two church members were arrested and a third was issued a summons after they refused to leave two Catholic churches that had been closed by the archdiocese, police said. Parishioners had been conducting sit-ins at Our Lady of Good Counsel on Louisiana Avenue and St. Henry's on General Pershing since the parishes were closed in October. Parishioners Removed From Closed Churches Raw Video: Applause As Church Member Arrested On Tuesday morning, representatives of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and police officers went to the churches to end the vigils and remove the parishioners. "This is a very poor example of religion," said Our Lady of Good Counsel member Mary Alice Sirkqs. "Not only is it not Catholic, it's not even Christian." Police asked the protesters to leave peacefully, and the parishioners at Our Lady of Good Counsel refused, according to a statement from the archdiocese. The parishioners said police broke down the door; archdiocese spokeswoman Sarah Comiskey said the break-in was necessary because parishioners refused to let police inside. Read the archdiocese's full statement. Local author Poppy Z. Brite was one of the church members arrested, along with Hunter Harris. Both were charged with criminal trespassing and resisting arrest. "Hunter and I were kneeling in the pews saying the rosary. They dragged us both out and arrested us," Brite said. This is the 10th week that parishioners have occupied the church, refusing to accept the archbishop's decision to close its doors for good. The Archdiocese of New Orleans said the closure is part of a restructuring plan meant to address Hurricane Katrina damage, a decrease in parishioners and a nationwide priest shortage. "This is awful," said 73-year-old parishioner Dorothy Payton, who was in the church when police arrived but was not arrested. "I never thought in this day in age that I ... would be put out of a church." At St. Henry's, the protesters allowed police and church officials to enter, and one person was issued a summons. Church member Cynthia Robidoux made a deal with police to allow her to go inside the church and finish the vigil. "They agreed that if I could trade places with the three people in the church — as long as they would not arrest me physically and make a scene and make them take me to jail — if I would accept a summons instead, then they would allow those parishioners to leave," Robidoux said. She must appear in court, but no one was physically arrested. Robidoux said the archdiocese took inventory and locked up the church. Members of St. Henry's plan to hold a news conference Wednesday to discuss the incident.
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