CONTROVERSY surrounds St Joseph's church in Stonehouse, Gloucester, where parishioners staged a sit-in recently over plans to move the original tabernacle.
Fr Peter Slocombe, parish priest at St Joseph's, ran into trouble when he decided to move the old tabernacle to make room for a new one. More than 100 of his flock signed a petition opposed to the plan and a meeting was held with senior clergy to discuss the situation.
Parishioners claim that Fr Slocombe had given an undertaking not to carry out work until further talks were held in September, and they now claim he has broken his promise.
Angry protestors staged a sit-in when they spotted builders hired by the priest starting work on moving the tabernacle. Fr Slocombe called the police in a bid to have them cleared.