Pastor Artur Pawlowski was seen in a viral video kicking out several police officers that raided his church during Good Friday Service.
The offense? Celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The video shows several officers and a member of the Alberta, Canada Health Services interrupt service.
Pawlowski, revealed that he’s been harrassed by officials for 13 months and has repeatedly told officials they may not enter the church in their capacity as law enforement to harass parishioners.
“If they want to talk or inspect the building, they can call me and we can arrange that,” the pastor explained. But instead of meeting with him, he said, “they preferred a method of storming.”
After demanding officials leave, offiicers left.
“I asked them to get out, and they would not move,” the pastor said. “So everything started to intensify. And I raised my voice, and I said it again and again and again, and they just didn’t want to go.”
“The organizer of the gathering was uncooperative with the health inspector, and repeatedly raised his voice asking all parties to leave the premises, which they did approximately one minute after entry and in a peaceful manner,” the Calgary Police said in a statement about the incident.
“This is unacceptable,” he continued. “Even during the times of the Middle Ages, the knights were commanded to leave their swords outside the church, they were not allowed to enter the church. But these days, nothing is holy for those people. They just walk in like it’s a restaurant.”
According to Pawlowski this is the first time officers entered the church however have used their vehicles to block parishioners from entering the parking lot.
“What happened on Saturday is just the tipping point of the harassment and intimidation I have been enduring for months,” he added.
“The concern was that the people in attendance were not adhering to the government’s COVID-19 public health orders, which are in place to ensure everyone’s safety,” the Calgary Police said in its statement.
“In attending public spaces, private homes, and businesses, we continue to strive for voluntary compliance with public health orders where that makes sense,” the police continued. “The majority of Calgarians are understanding and cooperative.”
“I grew up in Poland under the boot of the Soviets, behind the Iron Curtain,” Pawlowski said. “What I see right now, I see everything escalating and moving to the new level. They’re acting just like the Communists were acting when I was growing up when the pastors and the priests were arrested, and some were murdered. Many were tortured.”
Canada can now join Iran and China.
