Last month (April 1973, no 38), I told you of our trip to Rome and of our unsuccessful attempt to obtain an audience with the Pope, in order to hand him the Book containing our charge against him of "Heresy, Schism, and Scandal". The Book – known otherwise as the "Libellus" – was nevertheless handed over by two of our brave friends, on two separate occasions, the first being on the 10th April, when it was left with Mgr Martin, and the second, in the course of the public audience on the following day, when it was deposited within the hands of the Holy Father himself, before the eyes of the whole crowd of pilgrims. The fact that both His Holiness and Mgr Martin refused to accept it when it was handed to them does not change the situation in any way, except to pinpoint the state of affairs more effectively. The past month has not seen any new developments and, as far as Rome is concerned, the whole affair is dead and buried. The last word spoken in that quarter is represented by the communiqué issued by the Vatican Press Office, which both in its style and contents bears every mark of being directly inspired by the Sovereign Pontiff himself: "A so-called ‘League of the Catholic Counter-Reformation’ has during these past few days been circulating in Rome the news of a forthcoming demonstration organised by the Abbé de Nantes, with the intention of charging Pope Paul VI with ‘heresy, schism and scandal’, in protest, so it seems to us, against the recent Ecumenical Council Vatican II. This represents clearly an arrogant and fanatical gesture, not supported by any ecclesiastical authority, and indeed one which is disqualified and to be regretted, as devoid of any serious character and canonical basis, as well as gravely offensive to the Person and the ministry of the Vicar of Christ." (From Osservatore Romano, French edition, for 13th April 1973) However, that is by no means the end of the affair. Clearly, people will by now have made up their minds in accordance with their personal convictions. Many must, as the Vatican hoped, look upon our attempt as ridiculous and unjustifiable. But hundreds, also, have written to us assuring us of their prayers for this intention, and regretting that, what is in their eyes a "heroic and tremendous action", did not prove more successful. The press on the whole, chose to treat the affair as a triviality or else to ignore it entirely. So where exactly does the truth lie? It is not easy to assess the significance of this rather unusual event. In attempting to do so, I should at least like to dispel certain misunderstandings and suspicions, but I hope also to determine to what extent our Roman venture has definitively modified the progress of the Church’s auto-demolition that is taking place under the Pontificate of Paul VI. THE MAN AND THE BOOK The photographs, which I have here under my eyes, speak only of the insignificance of the event. The small group wending its way slowly from St Peter’s towards the Bronze Gate is indeed an insignificant quantity among the crowd of pilgrims, and we know that it was to be treated as though it were non-existent... We know that anybody can collect a handful of friends at some historic site for the purpose of having their photographs taken and in the eyes of the journalists and casual onlookers this priest who has come to teach the Pope a lesson is just plain silly, while the people who form his escort must be hysterical, hypnotised by him. The Vatican Press Office was speculating on this type of reaction when it spoke about "arrogance and fanaticism". And the French press showed that it too was playing the game when it informed its readers that "fortunately, and as was to be expected", we had been kept away by the Italian police. Rome, her Basilicas and Palaces, were built over many Catholic centuries in order to form a worthy and majestic setting, a frame of gold and marble, for the only form of greatness which is both human and divine – that of the Papacy. For Rome is the See of the one and only Sovereign pontiff, the only one who can justly claim to be Vicar of Christ, Successor of St Peter and Head of the One Church. Rome represents the circle at the centre of which stands the Pope – Pope Paul VI. When you hear that these French pilgrims have come to ask for an audience with the Pope because they want to complain against him, you may well shrug your shoulders. And so, when you see the picture of this French priest giving his conference at the foot of the Obelisk, his finger pointing towards the heavens, you will be quite ready to conclude that he is out of his mind, an anarchist, or at least, full of his own importance. And all the appearances would seem to point in this direction, confirming the verdict of the Press Office that these sixty people, with some unknown priest at their head, who are trying to set themselves up against the six hundred million Catholics of the world, and against the Holy and lawfully elected Head of the Church, must on no account be taken seriously... I am rather amused at the degree both of pride and of self-control with which I am supposed to be endowed, as well as at the supposed hypnotic attachment on the part of my followers. This interpretation, at any rate, is the one most calculated to give our enterprise a speedy burial under a mound of contempt and ridicule. If these folk only knew how far we share their views on this point, how convinced – even more than they – we are ourselves regarding our own indignity and unimportance! We were only too conscious, when celebrating our Mass of supplication at the altar of St Pius X, on the morning of April 10th, that we were nothing in Rome but grains of dust, blown this way and that. My friends had no illusions about me; they knew that they were accompanying a priest devoid of any authority, without episcopal backing, with no particular personal merit or virtue and one, moreover, who has been suspended in his own diocese for the past five years. And I can assure you that, standing there in the midst of this small group of rather nervous friends, I too was conscious of my own insignificance, the more so because I know myself and what sort of person I am... No, it is not a case of megalomania. We knew full well that, so far as we personally are concerned, we did not deserve a reception better than the one we got – one of total disregard on the part of the hosts of the premises, with the addition of a detachment of police to disperse those who had gathered around us. And when we left after four days, our mission accomplished, it was simply as ordinary private individuals, returning, the one to his farm, another to his medical practice, one to his work in a garage, or to his studies, the Brothers to their life of prayer and silence, and monastic labour. Admittedly, there were some exceptional and very holy persons who had been hoping for a miracle and who now blame themselves for not having prayed enough. But I am not a saint – far from it. Others had been expecting some dramatic and moving scene – an audience, a reconciliation amid floods of tears. The naivety of some simple souls knows no bounds, and I am full of admiration for them... Only I made sure that our group should maintain a firm discipline that would preclude any attempt at the dramatic or the absurd. But what then, you may ask, was the point of our modest little procession, winding its way down from St Peter’s towards the Pontifical Palace of the Vatican? It was simply in order to hand over a Book. THE INCONTROVERTIBLE CHARGE That indeed is the only thing that matters in the events of 10th April – the book which I am holding in my hands. It is the book which formed the object of our journey, which attracted the crowd of journalists and cameramen, and which caused the police to be mobilised to obstruct our passage. Yes, I wrote the book. But its title and its contents give it an objective character, an existence in its own right apart from its author, a power even, entirely independent of him who wrote it. It is here that the Press Office has lied deplorably. For the book, having once been taken to Rome and handed in, has thereby indeed acquired a "canonical basis", one, moreover, of very serious significance, firm and unshakeable. We are not dealing with the memoirs of the Abbé de Nantes, or with some prophetic outpourings, nor even with his private system of theology. Had that been the case, we should have been received, like the racing cyclists and the rest, and the book too would have been accepted with polite congratulations, and found its way to whatever place on the shelves the Holy Father might have assigned to it – whether in his private office or in the archives. But this book is something different – it contains an accusation. And from the moment that a plaint has been brought, it exists independently of the plaintiff, proceeding in its own right and on its own strength. It is like a bomb, whose power depends only on the number of megatons, and not in any way on the hand which planted it. And our bomb carries a charge which is very great indeed – an accusation against the reigning Pope, Paul VI Montini, on account of heresy, schism and scandal. It is the book which he carries that gives this priest and the brave little group around him such an importance that all the papers in the world night well have covered their front pages with speculations concerning what the Pope would do now. Yes, it is indeed an unheard of event that on this 10th day of April 1973 the Pope himself should have been publicly charged with heresy, schism, and scandal, in Rome itself, before his own Tribunal in fact. Such a charge brings into question his ministry, his membership of the Catholic Church! The priest may be unknown, and his supporters number only a few dozen, but the event itself is nevertheless a historic one, for which the two thousand year history of the Church can produce only a few precedents, which however are relatively minor and insignificant compared with the present. If this bomb explodes, it means the end of the authority of him against whom it is directed – Giovanni-Battista Montini, later Paul VI, Pope for the past ten years. And how many other changes would follow! The Council, the Reformation still in progress, as well as numerous individual theologians would all be compromised, and follow in the wake of the fall of a heretical Pontiff. A reaction would set in in the Church, and the next Pope would look towards safer and more orthodox, supernatural means for that Restoration of Catholicism which we so desire. The blast of the explosion of such a bomb would be felt throughout the world. There is only one possible way of rendering such a bomb harmless – to take hold of it and defuse it. In other words, to take the Book and read it, in order to disprove it, and show that it is inspired by the devil. No one has ever prevented a bomb from exploding by throwing a cover over it. If a man is innocent, then he owes it to himself and to those for whom he is responsible to clear himself, by bringing, in a proper and lawful manner, a charge of slander against his accuser. The higher the position he occupies, the more imperative is it upon him to clear himself; to remain indifferent in such a case is neither prudent nor charitable... it can only be interpreted as evidence of guilt! THE MASK HAS FALLEN In the present case, this is what happened: the Pope would neither receive us nor delegate anyone else to do so. He would not even send the Swiss Guard to put us in our place, but only a band of plain clothes police, acting, as it were, casually, not on the official instructions of a lawful authority. And all this simply in order to avoid being handed the Book. Even though, when taken by surprise, he held it momentarily in his hands, he did not consent to receive it, and let it go immediately. Since that day, the Accusation is like a loaded grenade which the person at whom it was aimed has thrown away. It explodes there, in the open, and all can hear its message: Pope Paul VI is guilty of heresy, schism, and scandal! And he knows it, he has no need to open the book to know what it contains. He makes no attempt to defuse it, knowing that to disprove our allegations would be impossible... It is too facile to suggest that he simply regards it as beneath his dignity to give a thought to the matter. The fact that the Italian police had been called in, so that the Vatican itself and all in any way connected with ecclesiastical administration could go into hiding under a wall of silence, and avoid every contact with us, points surely to fear and anger, rather than to mere indifference? Not only those naive souls who are shocked at every criticism of the Pope, but also the progressives and anti-clericals of Rome, even some among the Pope’s immediate following, as well as members of the diplomatic corps, consider that the Pope showed inadequate courage, that he made a mistake. They believe it would have been better to receive us, take the book, and goodbye! For a brief moment, I was inclined to agree. But – if my information is correct – that was just what the Pope had intended to do, right up to the night before our arrival – receive us, take the book and then allow it to be buried under the proverbial slowness of Rome... If this solution, which would have avoided the appearance of a flagrant injustice, was finally rejected, this must have been because it was deemed too dangerous. For, had Paul VI actually received the book, he would thereby have become automatically embroiled in the Accusation and in the ins and outs of a canonical Process, which on principle he has always rejected. He would rather consider himself to be above everything, even the Tradition of the Church and the Scriptures. To take the book and open it would have been the end of him. If a bomb disposal expert picks up a bomb and is unable to defuse it, he will be killed by it. Paul VI has no curiosity to know what the book contains: he is familiar with the gist of it already, as the result of the Process at the Holy Office instituted against myself, at my own request, between 1965 and 1969. And as a result of that he knows also what conclusion would follow any Process against himself, were such a one ever to be opened! So he has no choice but to shut himself into his Palace surrounded by police and to give orders to all his entourage to do the same, and avoid any contact with our bomb; and to use all the methods of the totalitarian tyranny reigning in the Church for the past ten years, to prevent the bulk of ordinary Catholics from coming into contact with it. The bomb will thus explode in the middle of a desert, and who – except the handful who constitute the "so-called League of the Catholic Counter-Reformation" – cares that Paul VI is guilty of heresy, schism, and scandal! For they, as everybody now knows thanks to the well-trained Press, are mentally imbalanced anyway. In Russia, we should have been sent to a psychiatric hospital; in the Montinian Church, it is not worth the bother! FALLEN INTO THE HANDS OF THE WICKED During the public audience on 11th April, Paul VI seemed unusually nervous, his face, as in some other difficult moments, like that of a hunted man. But once the danger was past – we, that is, safely out of the way – he was no longer afraid, and even apparently felt more free than before, and less obliged to pay occasional lip service to Tradition or the teaching of his Predecessors. And the same freedom from restraint will apply also to the rest of the progressive wing of the Church – as well as to the great body content to follow in its wake. The past month has brought – is it by sheer coincidence? – an acceleration in the Church’s decomposition, and a host of new examples that might have enriched the pages of our Libellus. On Palm Sunday, three days after our visit, when he felt able to breathe again, Paul VI pronounced a eulogy of youth, announcing the opening of a "messianic era" in the craziest terms, so that only a nitwit could have understood him to be referring to that Messiah who was born in Nazareth of the Virgin Mary. And had he not, the very day of 11th April, speaking about Pacem in Terris and the Letter to Cardinal Roy, repeated his great themes of the Cult of Man – Faith in Man, Hope in Man, and Love for Man? Then we had the celebration by the Paris clergy, of the centenary of the birth of Sangnier, the dreamy-eyed pioneer of Christian Democracy denounced by St Pius X, and the Pope’s mourning of his "Master", Maritain, who was immediately on his death acclaimed as a "saint" and "doctor of the new Church". If Paul VI can remain in heresy, schism, and apostasy, with the consent of everybody except ourselves, how is he to retain any authority at all? All can follow their opinions as though there were no Pope. While today he may be their leader or accomplice, tomorrow he will be their prisoner… Perhaps then the Hour of God will strike. |
