People reserving seats/entire pews at major holiday masses (Catholic)

After what I saw at 4pm mass today, I feel compelled to call out a select few of my fellow Catholics for what I consider the ultimate in being inconsiderate and hypocritical. I got to church at 3:10 and it was already about 80% full. People were scrambling for places to sit.

I noticed a very long pew with a young girl stationed at each end and nobody in between. I thought nothing of it and started to enter the pew. They announced to me that the entire pew was reserved. Didn't want to cause a stink right there in church, but the very idea that some people think that's ok - especially considering the circumstances - is very disappointing. They continued to turn away well-intentioned people until "their people" arrived about 5 minutes before Mass started. There were other similar instances today, but this by far was the most egregious.

Back in the day, it was common decency that said if you wanted to sit together, you arrived together. You reserved your seat by putting your buttocks on it - period. To project your inability to arrive at church on time onto fellow church goers is uber-arrogant, inconsiderate, selfish and reeks of an elitist mindset, even amongst Catholics.

Tell me - what gives these people the right to reserve large stretches of pews? Is 1 entire pew ok? 2 pews? 3 pews? Can anything possibly justify it? It's not the neutral ground at Mardi Gras, for Christ's sake!!