This is an historical work describing the life and the theological
combats of the Abbé de Nantes since his priestly ordination on 27 March 1948. Three
volumes have been written so far, taking the history up to 1978, the year when Pope Paul
VI died and was succeeded by John Paul I.
As yet no English translation of these volumes has been published, but
excerpts of special interest from each book may be accessed by clicking on their images
below.
Volume I. 1948-1963: THE STORM LOOMS
by Brother Michael of the Holy Trinity, 436 pages
 The Abbé de Nantes is well-known
for his theological criticisms of the grand reformist orientations of Vatican II and of
Popes Paul VI and John Paul II. He is also known for his no less firm opposition to the
integrist schism that threatens to tear numerous faithful traditional Catholics away from
the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the One Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church.
Because of his untiring combat on two fronts, against the "modernist cancer"
on one hand and the "integrist tape-worm" on the other hand, the founder
of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in the 20th Century has attracted numerous
enemies who have managed to disseminate an opinion about him that is as depreciative as it
is false. Consequently, his ministry as a priest in the service of the Church and his
theological, mystical, philosophical, and political works are usually ignored, and his
valid justifications for his difficult "via media" between the opposing parties
are misunderstood, if not cynically disfigured and caricatured.
In this first volume we see the Abbé de Nantes, as a teacher of philosophy and
theology, struggling against neomodernism and French progressivism with an astonishing
perspicacity. In September 1958 he was received into the diocese of Troyes in order that
he might found the congregation of the Little Brothers of the Sacred Heart, and his parish
ministry was enthusiastic and fruitful. As a result of engaging himself publicly in the
defence of French Algeria and of denouncing the treason of the Gaullist administration and
the active complicity of the Church of France in the Revolution, he soon entered into
conflict with the Bishop of Troyes.
A few pages from the Abbé de Nantes' masterly study of The
Mystery of the Church and the Antichrist, written between 1959 and 1963, may be
found translated here. With uncanny perspicacity in these early years of the Church's
conciliar crisis he convincingly demonstrates the satanic nature of progressivism.
Volume II. 1963-1969: IN THE EYE OF THE CYCLONE
by Brother Francis of Mary of the Angels, 380 pages
 Having retired to the Maison Saint-Joseph in
September 1963, the Abbé de Nantes pursued and developed his doctrinal combat. In his Letters to My Friends he discussed the great debates of
Vatican II: collegiality, liturgical reform, Congarian ecumenism, religious liberty, the
rehabilitation of Judaism, and the cult of man. Before the second session had started, he
forecast the disastrous consequences of this "catastrophic Council" and asks
that its theological controversies be settled by dogmatic definitions. In the Spring of
65, with a rare sagacity, he revealed, explained, and denounced the politco-religious
fantasy of Pope Paul VI: the Masdu (mouvement d'animation spirituelle de la
democratie universelle).
The Letters of the theologian of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in the 20th
Century are quoted at length in this volume. In the light of his striking analyses we
can relive the whole drama of the Council, which ended in the unhappy defeat of the
"glorious minority".
At the close of Vatican II, the Abbé de Nantes rejected its Acts, regarding them as
stained with heresy, ambiguous and pernicious. Threatened with an interdict by the Bishop
of Troyes, he appealed to Rome and was allowed to bring his complaint before the Holy
Office. In submitting his own writings, and therefore his accusations against Pope Paul VI
and against Vatican II, before the supreme tribunal of the faith, it was in fact their
work of Reform that he was referring to the tribunal's judgement.
The documents relating to this doctrinal trial of the Abbé de Nantes are set out in
the second part of this volume. The account of his interrogation is exciting and decisive.
We see the Abbé de Nantes being questioned by the designated consultors, learned
Roman theologians who have scrutinised his writings with an overriding concern to
find errors in them. They discuss his doctrine and his accusations, and they attempt to
catch him out...
The notification from Rome in August 1969, concluding the affair, paradoxically
proved that there is room in the Church for a Counter-Reformation opposition, since its
doctrine and its activities were not condemned. Certainly the Abbé de Nantes was
calumniated, but he nevertheless remained a full member of the Catholic clergy and a son
of the Roman Church. His Profession of Catholic Faith
stands as a faultless Catholic exposition of the exact nature and scope of the obedience
due to the Pope and the Bishops of the Church.
Volume III. 1969-1978:
AGAINST THE SCHISMATIC DRIFT
by Brother Francis of Mary of the Angels, 551 pages
 After the promulgation of the new Order of the Mass,
the Abbé de Nantes boldly entered the battle against the liturgical reform. He published
the appeal attributed to Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci even before it had been delivered
to the Pope! However, from the autumn of 1969, the theologian of the Catholic
Counter-Reformation had a new and even more pressing concern, that of defending the unity
of the Church.
His dramatic discussion on 21 July 1969 with certain
integrist priests, the controversies over the validity of the new Ordo Missae,
his refutation of the errors of the sedevacantists, and the foundation of the League of
the Catholic Counter-Reformation, these are the events and the accounts
related and
quoted in this volume. It is essential to have knowledge of these in order to
appreciate the supernatural wisdom with which the Abbé de Nantes led the traditionalists
along the via media between the abysses of schism and heresy during the 70s. The first
campaign of the League, "Tomorrow, Vatican III", relied on considerable
theological labour, and it remains a treasure of doctrine that it will become
indispensable to put in hand when the hour of the Catholic Renaissance sounds.
The detailed narration of his overtures at Rome in April 1973, an event without
precedent in the history of the Church, is enthralling. Step by step we follow the Abbé
de Nantes and the representatives of the League as they attempt to hand their canonical
complaint to Pope Paul VI. All at once the papal abuse of authority becomes unmistakable.
Six months later, the Liber accusationis is distributed to
the Roman clergy. The reactions, replies and confidences made by eminent members of the
Curia, such as Fathers Ciappi and Duroux, Mgr Mayer, and Cardinal Traglia, give eloquent
witness to the force of the demonstrations and conclusions drawn by the theologian of the
Catholic Counter-Reformation.
The history of the relations between the Abbé de Nantes and Mgr
Lefebvre is accurately retraced and clarified by several previously unpublished
documents.
The final chapter contains all the documents relating to the discussions the Abbé de
Nantes had in 1978 with Cardinal Marty and Mgr Etchegaray in view of a reconciliation. His
request had already been transmitted to Rome when the death of Paul VI occurred, the exact
circumstances of which appeared to confirm the justice of his analyses of the personality
and the works of this pope. As for the election of Pope John Paul I, how wonderful! it
proved that, despite the conciliar reform, the Church remained a permanent miracle, a
radiant sign lifted up before the nations.
Volume IV. 1978-2005. FACING THE
GREAT APOSTASY,
by Brother Francis of Mary of the Angels, 551 pages
 The
Abbé de Nantes recognised in John Paul I, the day after his election, “a
Saint Pius X without knowing it”. Yet this Pontiff claimed to assume the
heritage of the Second Vatican Council. What heritage, though? That is the
entire question! Assuredly, this good Pastor was open to the objections of
the theologian of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. It is also a joy to
discover Our Lady’s chosen one, whose luminous pontificate brought about a
spontaneous Catholic renaissance.
After the election of John
Paul II, the Abbé de Nantes discerned with perspicacity the various facets
of his personality. It is instructive to follow and relive the controversies
of those years, in particular on the “Polish resistance” encouraged by John
Paul II but condemned by Mgr Glemp…
In reaction to the “soft
apostasy”, the Abbé de Nantes rose up to undertake his appeal to Rome on
13 May 1983, the most useful for the Church and for the Holy Father himself!
Previously unpublished documents are used to present the discussions that
preceded it. The account of this move to give the Pope the Liber
accusationis, is so captivating that it can be read at one sitting.
It was at this time as well that
the Abbé de Nantes expounded his great metaphysical
intuitions and their consequences in numerous domains, which open, o marvel!
vast perspectives for the theological, mystical, and moral renewal required
for our times.
The open letter to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the
Complaint to the Fathers of the Synod in 1985, the Appeal to God’s
Judgement, launched in 1986, the critical analysis of the supposed
Catechism of the Catholic Church, are put into their context. In short,
it is the entire tragedy of the Abbé de Nantes’ clash with the hierarchy
that is recounted and explained along with its true causes.
After the “break-up” of traditionalism, all human hope
being lost, our Father undertook an ultimate recourse, recourse to the
Immaculate, which raises our hope of seeing the resurrection of the Church
with our very eyes, under the reign of a good Catholic Pope. |