Fathers' rights protesters storm altar and scale walls
PROTESTERS for the rights of fathers fought with churchmen yesterday as they stormed a service at York Minster.
Two other men scaled scaffolding on the building and unfurled a banner.
The chaotic scenes at the General Synod service were witnessed by the two most senior figures in the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope.Dressed as vicars, nuns and monks, a dozen campaigners for Fathers 4 Justice smashed a door and grappled with stewards in an attempt to hijack the high altar.
A glass panel was broken and a statue of the Virgin Mary smashed. Some of the protesters burst through the melee and rushed up the nave towards the altar.
Matt O'Connor, the protest's leader, was brought crashing to the ground by a rugby tackle from a steward. He was dragged out, shouting: 'Shame on you.
Justice for fathers.' Punches were thrown as the demonstrators tried to escape the grip of stewards. Eight made it to the altar where they linked arms and tried to halt the service.
Dr Williams told them: 'This won't do you any good, you know.' The congregation of 1,000 defiantly continued with a hymn, There's a Wideness in God's Mercy, and the Minster organist tried to drown out chants - until the Archbishop tried a different tack.
He offered the protesters two minutes to make their point, and Mr O'Connor was allowed to say from the lectern: 'We are here in the name of fathers, in the name of justice, in the name of our children and in the name of love, to ask how in the name of religion the Church would allow 100 children a day to lose contact with their fathers?
'Where are you? You have failed fathers and you have failed children.' The congregation emerged from the service to find that two demonstrators had taken advantage of the chaos inside to climb the Minster.
Jason Hatch, 28, a painter and decorator from Cheltenham, was dressed in cardinal's robes, while Andy James, 34, from Cardiff, was wearing a vicar's smock.
They stayed there for some ten hours before coming down, when they were arrested.
Earlier police had taken away another 12 demonstrators for questioning.
Two other men scaled scaffolding on the building and unfurled a banner.
The chaotic scenes at the General Synod service were witnessed by the two most senior figures in the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope.Dressed as vicars, nuns and monks, a dozen campaigners for Fathers 4 Justice smashed a door and grappled with stewards in an attempt to hijack the high altar.
A glass panel was broken and a statue of the Virgin Mary smashed. Some of the protesters burst through the melee and rushed up the nave towards the altar.
Matt O'Connor, the protest's leader, was brought crashing to the ground by a rugby tackle from a steward. He was dragged out, shouting: 'Shame on you.
Justice for fathers.' Punches were thrown as the demonstrators tried to escape the grip of stewards. Eight made it to the altar where they linked arms and tried to halt the service.
Dr Williams told them: 'This won't do you any good, you know.' The congregation of 1,000 defiantly continued with a hymn, There's a Wideness in God's Mercy, and the Minster organist tried to drown out chants - until the Archbishop tried a different tack.
He offered the protesters two minutes to make their point, and Mr O'Connor was allowed to say from the lectern: 'We are here in the name of fathers, in the name of justice, in the name of our children and in the name of love, to ask how in the name of religion the Church would allow 100 children a day to lose contact with their fathers?
'Where are you? You have failed fathers and you have failed children.' The congregation emerged from the service to find that two demonstrators had taken advantage of the chaos inside to climb the Minster.
Jason Hatch, 28, a painter and decorator from Cheltenham, was dressed in cardinal's robes, while Andy James, 34, from Cardiff, was wearing a vicar's smock.
They stayed there for some ten hours before coming down, when they were arrested.
Earlier police had taken away another 12 demonstrators for questioning.
