| Editor : Abbé Georges de Nantes | N° 86 – November 2009 |
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OUR LADY OF FATIMA CAMP 2009
13 MAY 1983: SECOND APPEAL TO ROME
The approach that the Abbé de Nantes undertook on 13 May 1983, ten years after that of 10 April 1973, was dictated by the coercive force of faith and reason; its aim was to prevail upon His Holiness John Paul II to judge Karol Wojtyla on the basis of the accusations contained in the Liber Accusationis Secundus.
The reader interested in knowing more about this extraordinary event that we summarise here, can reread Volume IV of Brother François de Marie des Anges’ Pour l’Église (editions CRC, 2005). He will see the extent to which the Abbé de Nantes’ action bears witness to the unfailing attachment of the Church to the infallible truth, and of her fidelity to her unique Spouse, Jesus Christ.
ATTEMPTS AT RECONCILIATION
In the May 1983 issue of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, our Father called to mind the numerous efforts that he had made since 1978 to foster a reconciliation with the Vatican.
The first attempt took place at the end of Paul VI’s pontificate. Our Father declared that he was « ready to re-examine his doctrinal positions before members of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ».
The first discussions were opened on 13 June 1978 through the « cordial and devoted » mediation of Cardinal Marty and Mgr Etchegaray, who imagined that our Father was weary of fighting and disposed to returning to the general norm. In the meanwhile, on 6 August 1978 Paul VI died.
After John Paul II’s election, our Father made a second attempt: he sent the Pope the conference that he had given at the Mutualité in November 1978 entitled From Paul VI to John Paul II: The Catholic Renaissance. Rome believed that the Abbé de Nantes was on the verge of rallying and began an exchange of letters.
Our Father offered the choice between two procedures:
– either the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would communicate to him all the dogmatic propositions and disciplinary decisions to which he should subscribe,
– or the Abbé de Nantes would write the list of the points that he disputed and for which he requested a doctrinal judgement.
Months went by, and no reply came from the Sacred Congregation.
In October 1979 our Father took a new initiative. He addressed himself directly to the Sovereign Pontiff « in order to ask him to say clearly what the exact conditions are for “full” membership in the Roman Catholic Church, or else what offences exclude one from membership? » The nunciature assured our Father that the letter had definitely been « transmitted to its high destination ». Yet, no reply came from Rome.
A month later, our Father wanted to manifest his confidence anew by addressing a Message to the Pope, in the name of the 1,500 Catholics who had participated in the meeting of the League at the Mutualité. The message informed the Pope of an « apprehensive reserve in the face of his political liberalism, his religious ecumenism, and his cult of natural man. »
Rome categorically refused to transmit the message to its august addressee. The chain of transactions was broken.
« SERIOUS THEOLOGICAL ERRORS »
In September 1981 there was a new development. A correspondent had written a letter to the Vatican to ask for clarifications regarding the Abbé de Nantes’ position in the Church.
The Secretariat of State made a strange reply, which our Father published; according to it « the Holy Father has given his full attention » to the letter. « Concerning the Abbé de Nantes », his situation in the Church « [was] not due to a simple misunderstanding with his bishop » but due « to serious theological errors ».
This letter was signed:
« For the Assessor, Mgr A. Lanzoni. »
It was dated 13 May 1981; without heading, mention of an addressee, this letter seemed to be a standard polycopy letter of reply, good for any occasion, which this monsignore had only signed. Bearing the Vatican emblem and the Secretariat of State heading, it seemed as though it were an official letter informing anyone concerned of Rome’s judgement against the Abbé Georges de Nantes… as though one had been rendered.
Our Father, who was deeply distressed by this defamatory letter that gave no details regarding these alleged « serious theological errors », gave Brother Bruno the responsibility of going to Rome to obtain explanations.
After having suffered several rebuffs, our brother managed to meet the assessor himself, Mgr Giovanni Battista Re, the third highest person of the Secretariat of State. He assured him that the letter was only « circumstantial » and that he was unaware of « any dogmatic, doctrinal or even simple theological error » in the writings of the Abbé de Nantes. Nevertheless, owing to his refusal of the Council, the Abbé de Nantes was « in an erroneous ecclesial situation ».
« Brother Bruno pointed out that it is precisely the question that remains in abeyance because the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had not followed up the questions that the Abbé de Nantes had asked during his attempts at reconciliation. »
Mgr Re could not deny it.
« But now, our Father wrote in his editorial of January 1982, the proposition I quietly enunciated above hereby finds itself tragically reversed! If it is recognised that I am not in error, then He whom I contradict and oppose, in matters of faith and morals, is therefore in error, and up to the neck! »
In November 1982, our Father addressed a petition to the Pope to ask him for an audience in order to lodge a Book of accusation « against the doctrinal errors, dissident and schismatic acts, and finally the scandals which abound under Your reign ». The reply came three months later from Angelo Felici, nuncio to Paris, who said that in view of the tone adopted by our Father in the latest issues of the CCR, it was not possible to take seriously his desire for reconciliation.
Our Father rejoined on 25 March 1983 with a letter that he sent directly to the Pope. He specified that it was not a question of being reconciled but of replying to his serious accusations of heresy, schism and scandal, and that in any case, he would present himself along with a group of brothers and friends in Rome, at ten o’clock on 13 May, with a view to placing in the hands of the Supreme Judge of the Faith the Liber Accusationis, wherein were recapitulated all his grievances.
« THE FIRST STEP WAS TAKEN
BY PROTESTANTISM... » (St. Pius X)
Brother Roger, the “Prior” of Taizé:
« When John Paul II came to Taizé on 5 October 1986, he addressed a message to our community that went so directly to the source of our vocation that we integrated it into the rule of Taizé. As Archbishop of Krakow he came twice to Taizé, and he also invited me to his place, to his residence. Among other encounters, I would like to mention one. Shortly after the attack on his life, I was returning from a trip to Poland and was able to visit the Pope in the clinic. The Pope was still in his sick bed, very weak, pale, and with a very feeble voice, but he made remarks to me that, ever since, urge me on. »
Testimonies on John Paul II, compiled on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his pontificate, in Pèlerin Magazine, special issue John Paul II, Album 1978-1988.
NEGOTIATIONS
Since our Father received no response, he sought by a roundabout way to obtain an interview with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Catholic Counter-Reformation’s representative in Rome was charged with establishing contact with the Vatican.
On 26 March he paid a visit to Mgr Jacques Martin, the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, who exclaimed:
« We will forbid the Abbé de Nantes to approach the Pope. If he comes to the Vatican, we will send the police to prevent him from causing disorder, commotion.
– What a pity, Monseigneur. The journalists, who will witness the scene, will see that it is impossible to lodge a book at the Vatican!
On 9 April, our friend in Rome had a long talk with Mgr René Séjourné, a member of the French section of the Secretariat of State, who informed him that it was not Mgr Martin, but John Paul II himself who had decided to have recourse to the police.
In order to avoid a clash with Italian carabinieri as in 1973, our Father sought to negotiate. On 26 April, he proposed a compromise to the Pope through our representative and Mgr Séjourné. He committed himself to not publishing his Book of Accusation if, on 13 May, a representative of the Holy Father would officially receive this Act of accusation.
Mgr Séjourné replied that it was blackmail and left little hope for the outcome of these negotiations.
Yet, our Father insisted, is it not Rome’s duty to examine the accusation?
In the meantime, the Abbé de Nantes received a letter from Mgr Matagrin, Bishop of Grenoble, who still refused him his celebret, which at the same time prevented him from saying Mass during his trip to Rome.
On 3 May, our Father authorised our representative to send a press kit to two hundred and twenty journalists accredited to the Holy See; it contained a biography of the Abbé de Nantes, the announcement of his coming to Rome, a copy of his letters to the Pope, and a summary of the Liber Accusationis.
The communication of these documents to the journalists alarmed the Secretariat of State. It understood that our Father was determined and that it would be impossible to turn away a group of two hundred persons without causing a scandal.
On 5 May, our Father made another attempt at negotiating with Church authorities and had a message for His Holiness John Paul II transmitted to Mgr Re, assessor of the Secretariat of State. The message specified that « as the Abbé de Nantes advances in his final draft of the Liber, he is all the more overwhelmed by the gravity of what he is writing ». Thus, he made the following proposal:
– either he would not be received, and the Liber would be published.
– or he would be received, and he committed himself to not publishing the Liber for a year, to criticising the Holy See or any act of the Pope no longer, but, on the condition that once the Liber had been received, a regular trial on the Faith would be engaged, and that our Father would receive his celebret to say Mass in Rome.
Mgr Re transmitted the proposal to his superior, Mgr Martínez Somalo, substitute at the Secretariat of State, who in turn informed his superiors.
11-12 MAY 1983
On 11 May « at two o’clock in the morning, I completed my second Liber Accusationis after forty days of intense work. It was bound on the morning of our departure, the first copy destined for the Holy Father ».
The two hundred representatives of the League embarked at Paris and arrived in the evening at Fiumicino airport.
In the meanwhile, at Rome, Mgr Re communicated over the telephone the following message to the Roman representative of the CCR:
« Mgr Jerome Hamer, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, accompanied by an ufficiale, will receive the Abbé Georges de Nantes alone or accompanied by a maximum of two persons at the Holy Office on 13 May at 10 o’clock. »
Our Father learned the news when he debarked from the plane:
« An immediate relief. If Rome is hostile to me, this welcome is its first or second tactical error. But if Rome is touched? The flutter of a foolish hope. The news was passed from mouth to mouth. Our journey, therefore, will not have been in vain! »
But now here is what gives a more exact appreciation of the opening that had been granted and of the atmosphere that pervaded Rome.
On Monday, 9 May, the Holy Father was shown beating the breast of his illustrious predecessors, Paul V and Urban VIII, for the errors and injustices committed by the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office and of the Index, « with regard to that fraudulent rogue, Galileo, the darling of all the Freemasons, Modernists and Teilhardists, the worst enemies of the Catholic Faith! » While this same Congregation was doing a hundred times worse towards the Abbé de Nantes, through an exaggerated submission to John Paul II…
There was this as well: just when Rome was demanding of the Abbé de Nantes a Muslim type obedience, the Pope was receiving « with extraordinary marks of esteem and reverence “His Beatitude”, the shady and more than suspect so-called “Patriarch of Antioch”, Syrian schismatic, pro-Palestinian, presently pro-Soviet Ignatius IV Azim, who was on an Arab propaganda tour of Europe… »
Finally, there was this: the next day, Thursday, 12 May, the feast of the Ascension, the Abbé de Nantes and his representatives of the League attended a papal Mass. The sermon was a further verification of the Liber Accusationis. The Pope skated over the historical fact of the Ascension « so as not to ruffle the modernist incredulity of our French bishops » and developed « his symbolism whereby all humanity is from that moment found to be miraculously borne aloft, transformed, and clothed in divine dignity... »
At the end of the Mass, the Pope invited Ignatius IV to bless the Catholic faithful! Our friends withdrew just in time « having come to Rome not to receive the blessing of a schismatic », as the Pope’s sufficed for them.
That is how things went in our Church under John Paul II’s authority: « Great eagerness to flatter the outsider, to raise up the enemy, at the risk of beating one’s own children and throwing out those who are most attached to the Church in her defence. »
13 MAY 1983
Friday, 13 May was the great day. It was the centenary of the smile that the Blessed Virgin gave to little Thérèse (13 May 1883) and the anniversary of the first Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima (13 May 1917).
At eight a.m., the Abbé de Nantes was refused permission to celebrate Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica, « on the orders of Cardinal Casaroli », the sacristan told him. The group attended the Mass of some Italian priests passing through Rome who, with their pious parishioners, were making a pilgrimage... in an empty basilica.
Where are the crowds this Holy Year?
After having received Communion and prolonged our thanksgiving, the Abbé de Nantes left the basilica, followed by his brothers and friends. In his hand, he held the two Books of Accusation, against Paul VI and John Paul II, and headed resolutely towards the Holy Office reciting the Rosary. The group formed into a pious procession. United and grave, it was impressive.
It was ten o’clock. The doors of the palace of the Holy Office were open. The Abbé de Nantes, Brother Bruno, Brother Gérard and two representatives of the League were authorised to enter and were received by Mgr Hamer, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in a parlour on the second floor.
« ...THAT OF MODERNISM MAKES THE SECOND... »
Georges Hourdin, the founder of La Vie catholique :
« John Paul II embodies an open, conciliar Christianity. In his eyes, the believers of other religions also have their share of insight; from this derives the Holy Father’s intuition, which appears very consonant with the spirit of the Council, of preferring first to gather together believers in a common practice of prayer, rather than to lay down as a preliminary condition to any rapprochement the resolution at all costs of theological difficulties between the different denominations or religions. »
Mgr Hamer welcomed them kindly, good-naturedly, almost in an easy-going manner; he attempted carrying on an affable and conciliating dialogue. The Abbé de Nantes put an end to the niceties and pointed out that he had come to Rome for serious reasons: he wanted to obtain clarifications and a judgement on dogmatic questions.
The Secretary then made it clear that he was acting « on behalf of the Pope himself. » No mention would be made of Cardinal Ratzinger, who was then the titular Prefect of the Sacred Congregation. The discussions were carried out in the tone of closely argued verbal jousting in which Mgr Hamer tried to catch the Abbé de Nantes out on the form, but without ever tackling the fundamental problem.
The Abbé de Nantes first complained about having been forbidden to celebrate Mass in the Roman basilicas, under the pretext that he did not have a celebret, and then about having his bishop refuse him his celebret because he had a dispute with Rome. It was a vicious circle in which no one wanted to take responsibility for the sanction. The Abbé de Nantes demanded justice for this iniquity.
He then called to mind the history of his opposition to Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. His trial in 1969 had ended in a so-called “disqualification” that had been proclaimed urbi et orbi, even though the judges had not found any theological error in his writings: « “disqualified ” is sports terminology and not a canonical sanction. »
Mgr Hamer found nothing else to reply than:
« The word is found in dictionaries. »
The whole question, the Abbé de Nantes demanded, was to know whether to be a member of the Catholic Church, one is required to profess religious freedom, Congarian ecumenism and the cult of man: Mgr Hamer retorted:
« Monsieur l’abbé, have you been commissioned? In the name of whom do you rise up to accuse the Pope? By what right and by what authority are you doing this? »
– Excellency, I do so based on the faith of my baptism, my confirmation, and my priesthood.
– Thus you assign to yourself the role of prosecutor of the faith in the Church, of public prosecutor. For fifteen years now, you are the Fouquier-Tinville of the Church.
– One must not reverse the roles. For the moment, I am in the position of a powerless plaintiff before a sovereign judge whose authority and powers I recognise. »
Mgr Hamer did not utter the word “pride”, but he implied the accusation when he commented:
« Monsieur l’abbé, you really do think that you are quite intelligent, don’t you? »
– The question about whether I am or am not a proud person concerns my director of conscience and not the Holy Office… If I talk nonsense in accusing the Pope of heresy, it should be easy to demonstrate it. For you it is a duty of charity towards those who listen to me, towards the souls whom, according to you, I am leading astray.
– Monsieur l’abbé, do you realise how insolent your attitude is towards the Holy Father? It suffices to read the summary of your book to see your total lack of respect.
– I will not defend myself on this point. What is important is the substance, the faith.
– Charity, Monsieur l’abbé.
– Charity is commanded by faith and hope. True charity cannot be found where the true, integral Catholic Faith no longer exists. Our Lord manifested His charity by being violent against the high priests and the Pharisees.
– Please, don’t identify yourself with Christ opposing the...
– Is it not preferable to resemble Our Lord Jesus Christ rather than the... »
The more the discussion advanced, the more Mgr Hamer trembled and seemed nervous.
In the end, as he did not succeed in catching the Abbé de Nantes out, he lost patience and declared:
« This has gone on long enough. I am going to tell you the decisions that I have taken in my functions, that is, according to the Holy Father’s directives. »
Then he read the conclusions and demands that were formulated on a sheet of paper, which the Pope himself had annotated:
1. He refused to receive the Liber on the grounds that the accusations were unjustified and gravely offensive.
2. He formally forbade its publication.
3. He asked the Abbé de Nantes to retract all his errors and accusations of heresy brought against Pope Paul VI and the Second Vatican Council, a retraction that had been required of him in 1968.
4. Until the Abbé de Nantes has retracted his errors and attacks made against the Council and the Popes, the Holy Father would be unable to give credence to the seriousness of his desire for reconciliation, but he still remained disposed to welcome him.
When he had finished reading, the Abbé de Nantes spoke:
« I strongly deny your conclusion. I have never recognised any errors because none were charged against me during the preliminary investigation of my trial. »
– Your errors were shown to you during the trial sessions in May and June 1968.
– What errors? The only question that had been debated was my peculiar theory on original sin, which displeased Fr. Gagnebet. I told him that I was ready to renounce it.
– Your errors, you know them very well.
– I do not know them. I ask you to show them to me precisely.
– It’s a waste of time. »
Brother Bruno protested:
« Last year, Mgr Re, of the Secretariat of State, declared to me that the Abbé de Nantes had committed no theological error. »
– Mgr Re was not at the trial [of 1968]. Now, we know what took place there: not only did the tribunal indicate your errors to you, but you acknowledged and retracted them. Then, you returned to them in complete bad faith. »
The Abbé de Nantes interrupted him:
« That is absolutely false. It is a lie.
– You do realise how disrespectful those words are. »
The Abbé de Nantes stood up. There were five witnesses; a large crucifix hung on the wall behind Mgr Hamer.
« In the name of the Crucified Christ, in the name of my God who will be our Judge, I say, your Excellency, that you are a liar. »
Then, turning towards the secretary:
« Please note: “Your Excellency, you are a liar, a liar!” I have nothing further to add. »
Then our Father left the parlour.
the Abbé de Nantes relates his dramatic interview.
AN IMPROVISED PRESS CONFERENCE
When he left the Holy Office, the Abbé de Nantes found his friends in prayer before the palace and made a declaration to the journalists, relating to them with great emotion his dramatic interview.
He ended by saying that he absolutely did not understand his being denied the right to say Mass in Rome, he a Catholic priest who had asked the Sovereign Pontiff, head of the Church, to infallibly judge his case, while at the same time, John Paul II received in the chancel of St. Peter’s as though he were his brother, a schismatic Syrian Orthodox, Ignatius IV Azim, who did not recognise the primacy of the Pope.
« I will submit to the Pope when he is willing to judge me on what I have written, on what I have said against him! It is a matter of knowing whether Pope Wojtyla is Catholic or whether I am Catholic! It is a matter of knowing if today, in Rome, it is the religion of God that counts or whether it is the religion of Man! It is a matter of knowing whether revolution in the whole world is the work of the Pope and the Gospel or whether respect for public welfare and the tranquillity of States is! It is a matter of knowing whether the tradition of the Church counts for the salvation of souls or whether it is building the Socialist city of the future!
« These are the serious matters that divide us, but not us, the community and myself alone, from the Holy Father, but also the thirty thousand persons that our two hundred friends represent! A throng of persons who are waiting for the Pope to make a pronouncement! I recognise his authority; all he has to do is to judge between himself and us. He has all the power; I have none. But he cannot tell me that I acknowledged errors that I was not shown. Moreover, he cannot frighten me by saying:
« The Holy Father will perhaps give you favourable consideration if you be silent. He still awaits acts of submission on your part with a view to resuming dialogue, with a view to reconciliation. »
« Reconciliation comes when we have the same faith! »
Italian newspapers gave an account, sometimes ironical, of the Abbé de Nantes’s accusations against the Pope. In France, Le Figaro mentioned the affair in an uninteresting article, biased in favour of Mgr Hamer. Furthermore, a chain of provincial newspapers recopied a very sarcastic dispatch. As for La Croix, in observance of the orders of a higher authority, it did not devote a single line to the event.
The Abbé de Nantes then headed towards St. Peter’s Square; his intention was to sing the Regina Cœli at the hour of the Angelus, beneath the windows of the Pope, as a sign of submission.
« ... THE NEXT STEP WILL PLUNGE US INTO ATHEISM.»
J.-P. Elkabbach, Assistant General Manager of Europe 1:
« I am of Jewish origin. Rather atheist. John Paul II did not make me want to convert, nor to return to the synagogue. But by his charisma, his commitment, the risks that he took, he gave me even more confidence in man and in human progress and in justice. »
A BOGUS INCIDENT
« Thereupon, in order to contrive to make the event look ridiculous – ridiculing those who thought they could do so – the Italian police pounced on me and asked for my identity papers. Alas? I did not have my passport on me... I was bundled into a police car beneath the dumbfounded gaze of Brother Bruno. The car shot off with siren blaring – it was utterly ridiculous. I was taken into the waiting room for thieves, pimps, and prostitutes and there at last I met Him whom I had come to Rome to see: the photograph of John Paul II was there blessing the Italian police and the pickpockets without distinction. He is blessing me! »
The policemen have the Abbé de Nantes spell his name, write it down… when suddenly our Father remembers that it is one of the brothers in St. Peter’s Square who has his identity papers.
The police superintendent, realising that it was becoming ludicrous, ordered the Abbé de Nantes be taken back and dropped off at a street corner so that he might go alone to fetch his identity papers, after having promised to come back to present them. This was how they thought they would avoid ridiculousness!
When he was back among his flock, the Abbé de Nantes related the incident and invited them to follow him to witness the identity check. The procession set off with laughter and good humour, “flushed out” the police van, and surrounded it like a swarm of flies to the great irritation of the policemen. No one wanted to miss taking the photograph of his life: « Father being interrogated concerning his identity in a police van by a commissioner who had the Abbe’s photograph in his hand! They let Ali Agca through, but they strain at the gnat! » the Abbé de Nantes would say ironically.
The last two days of the pilgrimage, 14 and 15 May, were totally occupied by fervent visits that gave the Abbé de Nantes the opportunity to augment in everyone his love of the Church: « Our friends were very happy in Rome, convinced of the divinity and the greatness of the Church. When one is on pilgrimage in Rome in all these basilicas and churches, everywhere following in the footsteps of the saints and martyrs, he realises how much the present disorders of the Church are nothing when compared to the immense history of the papacy. We have not the slightest temptation to lose faith in Roman unity. »
LETTER TO POPE JOHN PAUL II
On 16 May, a Notification of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was published in the Osservatore Romano; it publicised the Abbé de Nantes’ request for a trial to be opened against the Holy Father for heresy, schism, and scandal, and repeated the four points of Mgr Hamer’s verbal declaration, which we summarised above.
Should the Abbé de Nantes submit to or disobey John Paul II’s orders?
After a few days of reflection and prayer, he announced his resolution to the audience of the conference he gave at the Mutualité in Paris on 19 May 1983: he would disobey the orders that had been given to him in order to « confess his Catholic faith » and « to show the truth that is necessary to the life of the Church. »
On 31 May 1983, by means of an open letter to the Pope, he replied to the Notification and in several points, justified publishing the Liber.
He first dealt with the question of his alleged errors: « How ought I, or could I, retract errors that have never been shown to me and that I have never recognised, since no one has made them known to me? Let me be told what they are, let someone formulate them, let Rome publish and condemn these errors, which everyone speaks of, though no one will or can articulate! » He insisted: « The proof of this double lie is accessible to a child. If I have committed some error, let the Holy Office produce it! Here is a pen, here is paper... If I have recognised my error, show us the record of this major avowal! Here are the minutes of this trial: What page? what paragraph? »
Then he replied to the demand for the retraction of « accusations that are unjustified and gravely offensive to the Holy Father » by recalling that his criticisms against the Conciliar Acts and his accusations against Paul VI « authorise any other kind of appreciation except that of being “unjustified” » because of the fact that they are so well-substantiated. He also indicated that the hundreds of pages that were devoted to the life and thinking of the Holy Father and published in the Catholic Counter-Reformation and in the second Liber Accusationis, brought « more than sufficient proofs » of his accusations.
« As for declaring these accusations to be “offensive”, that is a matter of personal opinion, of vague and uncertain feeling, until such time as Your Tribunal makes an infallible pronouncement ».
As usual, the Abbé de Nantes was criticised for his tone, his direct style, his terse turn of phrase, the form of his writings, which were perfectly justified in view of the “offensive” and “unjustified” innovations that the Pope professed and that affected nothing less than the integrity of Catholic dogma. Yet no one ever replied to him on the substance.
« The truth is that my accusations, all fully supported, are “offensive”, but then the word is too weak; they are sacrilegious if they are false. For someone who respects neither God nor the Church, who has no respect for his own oaths or Office, for the people entrusted to and trusting him, these accusations are not even disrespectful if they are true.
« It is for the Judge to decide. And I have never pretended, as is recklessly claimed on all sides, to judge you and condemn you “without appeal”. On the contrary, I am appealing to You, Most Holy Father, against this other you, whom I name Karol Wojtyla, as I appealed in like manner to Paul VI, for fifteen years in vain, as the only competent and unique sovereign judge in so grave an affair.
« Alas, Mgr Hamer refuses to open this doctrinal trial and will only speak of reconciliation and fraternal dialogue, in humility, ours of course, and in charity, his it goes without saying. But in the truth? Not at all. This invitation to dialogue, on this occasion as always, is a refusal to put the question concerning the truth, it is a refusal to pass a doctrinal judgement, a refusal that its proponents would like to persuade us to accept or at least to have us acquiesce in. But is not such a refusal, through its neglect of duty, in itself an admission of culpability? »
Finally, the Abbé de Nantes justified his decision to publish the Liber Accusationis despite Mgr Hamer’s orders by quoting extracts from The Church is a communion, a book, which Mgr Hamer himself wrote and published before the Council during the reign of Pius XII !
« If I heed Hamer the theologian, I shall publish. If I heed Hamer, the turncoat, postconciliar functionary, I shall not publish. But the first Hamer speaks as clearly as the second sounds false. »
Listen to the Dominican whose doctrine reflected that of St. Thomas: “To confess one’s faith is a general obligation, as general as the faith itself. To confess one’s faith is a condition of salvation. It is impossible for a man to be saved if he is not attached to Christ through faith and if he does manifest his faith, therefore, through confessing it”.
« It is Saint Thomas who teaches, “Wherever the Faith is in danger, every Christian is bound to proclaim the Faith.” And Fr. Hamer wonders: In what circumstances is it most urgent? “St. Thomas answers: whenever the honour due to God or usefulness to one’s neighbour demand it.” No trace of having to ask authorisation of the Holy See.
« What an excellent secretary to the Holy Office this Jerome Hamer would have made! What firmness! What courage in the Faith! He has persuaded me; I shall publish. »
The Abbé de Nantes made two copies of this letter addressed to the Pope; he sent these to Cardinal Ratzinger and Mgr Hamer. In the letter addressed to Mgr Hamer, the Abbé de Nantes added what this prelate declared in 1974 on the “‘Structures, Methods and Tasks of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith”.
« There I find proof of your neglect of authority, with arguments solidly set out in advance by you yourself. “There is no vacatio veritatis”, in other words, the truth never takes a holiday. “The believer who is troubled or feels himself to be misled in his faith, can he not demand (my underlining) a clarification from a priest, from his bishop, or from Rome?" And your answer to this question is fully and plainly affirmative: “No member of the Church, whoever he may be, can be deprived of direct recourse to the Pope and to the Holy See.” Pulchre, recte, optime (smartly, squarely, excellent). »
Thus, using Mgr Hamer’s own affirmations, the Abbé de Nantes cast light on the Secretary’s crime.
In reply to his letters to John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger, and Mgr Hamer, the Abbé de Nantes would only receive from Rome nothing more than an acknowledgement of receipt dated 27 June 1983. Rome replied nothing to the critique of the Notification. This document would never be justified or defended. The Abbé de Nantes’ demonstration and his denunciation of the neglect of duty remain irrefutable.
No legal proceedings were started; no sanctions fulminated. The Abbé de Nantes remained publicly in the bosom of the Church, a full-fledged member of the Catholic clergy. The Bishop of Grenoble, Mgr Matagrin, even granted him the powers of jurisdiction for 6 August 1983 in order for him to bless a marriage in his diocese.
THE ACCUSATION IS MADE PUBLIC
At the end of that same year, the Liber was distributed in Rome. Copies of its Italian edition were sent to six hundred members of the Roman clergy, cardinals residing in Rome, influential functionaries of the Curia, and the pastors of Roman parishes. There were few refusals: three parish priests and a colleague of Cardinal Poletti returned it to its sender. It received, however, no favourable reactions.
Apparently, these postings of the Book of Accusation fell into an ocean of indifference. The Abbé de Nantes was not surprised by it.
The moving entreaty with which he ended his open letter to the Holy Father showed, however, the gravity of what was at stake. It can be addressed to each of our pastors and to each of us, for it engages us to side boldly in favour of the truth:
« Most Holy Father, have a care for your salvation, take care of your soul! You are free; you are all-powerful in this century and in this world, and already avid to dominate the whole world by the beginning of the third millennium. To that end, you wish to banish, annihilate and efface from history all Catholic opposition to your grand and occult designs.
« There remains above us, however, and above you, One who is eternal and holy, perfect and merciful to the humble and the persecuted, Almighty God, whose omnipotence is outraged by your cult of man. It is to the divine omnipotence in you who remain His first subject, but also His Vicar on earth, that I entrust myself in this present life. It is to the divine omnipotence against you, if my expectation in this world were to be confounded, that I would appeal in eternity.
« Whoever and whatever we may be, mortals and miserable sinners, let us prostrate ourselves before God and say together: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I beg pardon for those who do not believe, who do not adore, who do not hope, who do not love Thee.” Perhaps the most unique and most Sacred and Immaculate Heart of Jesus and Mary will allow itself to be touched and in the end give us all our divine deserts. »