The organizers of the “Love Parade” in St. Petersburg did not allow parishioners of the Catholic church to hold a service

On May 27, as part of the celebration of the City Day in St. Petersburg, a "Parade of Love" was held, the main events of which took place in front of the Catholic Church of St. Catherine. Parade participants, many of whom were undressed, freely entered the territory of the parish, where, according to eyewitnesses, "drank alcoholic beverages and relieved themselves on the main porch and at the entrances to the cellars of the church." The police did not block access to the temple, the music coming from the speakers made it impossible to hold a service. Parishioners of the temple blame the organizers of the show for defiling the temple and insulting the feelings of believers.

On June 1, the temple community filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office.

During the June 5 meeting of the First Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Viktor Lobko with the head of the Catholic Metropolis in Russia, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, a government official condemned the organizers of the show and the inaction of the guards. V. Lobko said that it is necessary to take measures to prevent desecration of the temple and insulting the feelings of believers in the future.

On June 7, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg did not support the proposal of deputy Mikhail Amosov to send a request to Governor V. Matvienko regarding the desecration of the temple by the participants of the Love Parade. "Apparently, in the minds of many deputies there is a greater rejection of the Roman Catholic Church than of groups of such unbridled people," suggested M. Amosov, who nevertheless sent a deputy request to the governor on his own behalf.

V. Matviyenko, in response to a deputy's request, expressed regret that "the actions of the performing artists offended the feelings of the parishioners of St. Catherine's Church." The governor promised not to arrange a platform near the temple during carnivals.

Sources

• On the desecration of the temple on City Day // Website of the parish of St. Catherine. 2006. May.
• The community of the Catholic church in St. Petersburg, desecrated by the participants of the "parade of love", filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office // Interfax-religion. 2006. June 2.
• After the desecration of the temple in St. Petersburg, the authorities assured Metropolitan Kondrusevich that this would not happen again // Portal-Credo.ru. 2006. June 6.
• Petersburg deputies did not support the request to the governor about the desecration of the Catholic church by the participants of the "love parade" // There. June 7th.
• The governor of St. Petersburg regrets that the transvestites offended the feelings of the parishioners of the Catholic Church // There. 30 June.