By N.D.C. Wansbutter, Esq.
While much of the Catholic press seems to be focussing on the scandal in Assisi, there is in Paris, France, right now, a more extraordinary event occurring. Assisi is a vile affront to the First Commandment, it is really more "business as usual" and besides, as far as I can see, their weren't any Catholics present at the assembly ...
On the other hand, in Paris, Catholic youth, many of them from the S.S.P.X-affiliated Civitas Institute, are heroically opposing a blasphemous play by Romeo Castelluci where an old man who has to have his excrement cleaned up by his son in front of an enormous portrait of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on which the exrement is then thrown. There is also reportedly a scene where children throw hand-grenades at the same portrait proclaiming "you are not our shepherd!"
In the face of this, young Catholics are coming out in force to pray on the sidewalk and protest this outrage. This is truly inspiring, and humbling, Catholic action. It started with a dozen or so members of "Renouveau Francais" who bought tickets and disrupted the blasphemy by climbing onto the stage. They were beaten by riot police and arrested for their troubles.
Below is a clip from French television yesterday evening, featuring priests from St.-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet ...
As I've been able to peice-together the events with my very rusty French, it seems that after the initial actions of Renouveau Francais, the arestees were replaced the next night (25 October) by about 140 Catholics including the trads and members of L'Action Français. Reportedly, there were more than 300 on the 26th (cf. the clip embedded above) and I have not yet been able to find out how many were present tonight. Fr. de Caqueray in his communiqué of 26 October, reported that the police response was to "[arrest] by the busload". Below is another video showing the police doing just that:
Of course, as the mainstream media tells us "French authorities on Saturday said they would press charges against Christian fundamentalists who disrupted the showing of [the] controversial play ..." Well, it is nothing unusual for the media to brand true followers of Christ as "fundamentalists". God bless these brave defenders of Christ! Despite the threat of beatings and arrest at the hands of the police, the numbers have increased each night to protest this outrage.
I wish I could join them! This is truly an inspiration. Shamefacedly, many of us must likely confess that similar (perhaps less vile) productions have been put on in places we live with no one to oppose them. Indeed, I don't think we can say that such protests that are so large and successful as to force the liberal media to report in it has happened before. This is an important act in the war to renew Christendom.