Yeah the Catholics seem to have their shit together enough that they can generally pull off events and whatnot without too many issues. But a lot of churches especially older ones that predate things like standardized building codes probably need to be kept on a short leash on how many people are present in them, and assuming the building shown in the article is the church in question. Yeah I can see why the city may be iffy on having too many people at it, combine that with protesters outside and the general mess that comes with concerts I can see why they would deny a permit.