WWL-TV

Police were brought in by the archdiocese to end vigils.

NEW ORLEANS -- At Our Lady Of Good Counsel church, Harold Baquet, one of the leaders of the protest against the church closing order, was led out by New Orleans Police, and placed in a police car.

"It's unbelievable; you know, Harold Baquet is a cancer patient. He undergoes chemotherapy treatments. It is just terrible it had to come to this -- that Archbishop Hughes would not speak with us, would not meet with us,” said Barbara Fortier, a protest leader.

He was not taken to jail, but was driven home instead, but the experience left him stunned.

"There was really no reason for them to come out and handle us this way, and it really was a physical, it was physically abusive, and not only to us personally and physically, but to our home,” said Baquet.

There were tears, anger and arrests outside of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, where two people were taken away in handcuffs after police moved in to remove the protesting parishioners

One of them was author and parishioner Poppy Z. Brite.

“I’m having a wonderful time,” Brite said as she was taken away in handcuffs. “I’m serving my church. I’m saving my church.”

"It was necessary for the police to break-in to Our Lady of Good Counsel because those inside refused entrance to either archdiocesan representatives or the police," said Sarah Comiskey, the spokeswoman for the Archdiocese.

The vigil started around the clock in Our Lady of Good Counsel in October. It was one of a number of churches that were closed and consolidated as a part of a city-wide pastoral plan.

Archdiocese officials showed up at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church at midmorning Tuesday. The officials said they were there to reclaim church property, with the parishioners inside asked to leave peacefully – otherwise, officials said, they would be arrested.

"It has always been the intention of the archdiocese to bring these vigils to a peaceful conclusion.  This forced  closure involving the NOPD is the result of the actions of protestors at the former parishes," said Comiskey.  "This decision was made reluctantly after exploring every possible alternative, including multiple attempts to persuade the people to leave the building on their own.  These initiatives are unfortunate but made necessary now to ensure the safety of the people and security of the buildings."

There were about six or seven people inside the church – one of them was 72-year-old Dorothy Payton.

"This church belonged to us. It belonged to the community," Payton said. "We think we have a right. I don’t think they have a right to close the church the way that they did. This church was not damaged. We were doing our financial obligations, and we did more than we were asked."

Payton was not taken out in handcuffs, but she said she was told she was under arrest.

“They were just trying to tell us we didn’t belong in there, and the police said they didn’t have anything to do with this, they could understand that we wanted to stay in our church,” Payton said. “And that’s what we were trying to do. We wanted to stay in our church."

"I'm extremely disappointed, but to be honest with you, I'm not surprised,” said Julie Martello.

 "I think it is a shame before God, and I think this archbishop really needs to have a conversation with God, and have his conscience weighed against what he is doing. After Katrina, this is just unthinkable,” said Arthurine Payton.

At the same time, the archdiocese also moved to end the vigil here at St. Henry's, the other church conducting organized protests against the closings.

Police accompanied archdiocese officials as they ordered congregation members to leave, and closed the church. Protest leader Cynthia Robidoux was issued a court summons on a trespassing charge, and watched the closure in disbelief.

"I am just so broken hearted,” she said. “I mean, I can't even explain how empty I feel to know that this is the archdiocese."

Archdiocese officials say they have visited the churches, and repeatedly asked the protestors to leave. But when asked why the arrests and summons were believed necessary a spokeswoman for the archdiocese was booed by protest sympathizers.

"Unfortunately the circumstances that came about in the last few days have forced this decision,” said Comiskey.

An official statement expressed hope that the Catholic community may now heal and move forward. Members of both congregations are now trying to determine what to do next, as the churches they tried to keep open were locked up.