According to a court decision, an image of Saint Michael the Archangel must be removed from a public square because it offends the secularity of a French town
Newsroom (19/12/2021 10:30, Gaudium Press): The regional court of the French city of Nantes has ordered the removal of an image of Saint Michael the Archangel from a public square.
About a month ago, a radical group defending and promoting secularism in France called for the removal of an image of Saint Michael located in the square in front of a church of the same name in the town of Sables-d’Olonne.
The image of Saint Michael belonged to the courtyard of a college of the same name which had been sold and then demolished.
The town hall decided to place the statue of the archangel in the square of the same name, opposite the church of Saint Michael. The unveiling ceremony of the image’s new location took place on October 6, 2018.
The inauguration was attended by the mayor and a group of paratroopers who went to honour the patron saint, St Michael. The image was blessed by a priest.
According to the opinion of the judges the blessing of the image characterises it as an object of Christian piety and cannot figure in a public square. The decision of the regional court of Nantes granted 6 months for the removal of the image.
The town hall has two months to appeal the decision. The city mayor, Yannick Moreau, regretted the ruling and stated that “the site of the Saint Michael image is the Saint Michael square, in front of the Saint Michael Church”.
The mayor also considered that the country’s courts have more important things to decide instead of interfering in artistic and cultural heritage under the influence of radical groups. (FM)
