A nun from a small religious community in Southern France has gained international acclaim on social media after she tackled an environmental activist who was attempting to block construction at a pilgrimage site.
On Monday, green activists descended upon the Notre-Dame des Neiges (Our Lady of the Snows) pilgrimage site in the Saint-Pierre-de-Colombiar commune of Ardèche in an attempt to block the construction of a Catholic sanctuary.
As cameramen from public broadcaster France 3 were filming the dispute between the militant green activist group “Zone à Défendre” (Area Defenders) and the local religious community “La Famille Missionaire de Notre Dame” (The Missionary Family of Our Lady), a nun was filmed ramming into one of the male eco-warriors and dropping him to the ground in what has been compared to an NFL or rugby-style tackle.
Video footage of the incident saw many heap praise on the nun, with Irish Freedom Party leader Herman Kelly writing: “Sister should be playing rugby for South Africa. She was having nun of it.”
Catholic philosopher and Associate Professor at Pasadena City College in California, Edward Feser added: “One thinks of those medieval images of the Virgin Mary punching the devil in the face. If only Sister had been packing the stereotypical nun’s ruler to boot.”
Énorme ! La bonne sœur qui plaque un écologiste… du grand spectacle en Ardèche où des religieuses défendent le chantier d’un futur centre religieux face aux militants qui bloquent à cause de l’impact sur l’environnement.
🎥 @ferro_nicolas
☝️plaquage non réglementaire pic.twitter.com/3wSyO7s3LO— Léo Chapuis (@leo_chapuis) October 16, 2023
According to French broadcaster CNews, clashes between the green activists and the religious community lasted over an hour before police arrived at the scene and restored order.
Disputes between the environmental activists and the La Famille Missionaire de Notre Dame religious community have been longstanding. In order to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims to the Our Lady of the Snows site, the Catholic community began planning the construction of a sanctuary building in the area in 2018.
In 2020, the Zone à Défendre militant green group began to try to stop the construction, claiming that it would endanger a local flower, which they said was not considered when planning permission was granted by local authorities. The construction resumed at the end of last year, however, persistent protests have attempted to slow progress.
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