August 1985 Print

FRENCH BISHOPS STAND BY WHILE THE FAITHFUL MAKE REPARATION TO OUR LADY FOR A SACRILEGIOUS FILM

One of the most disturbing signs of the times in our day is the increasing frequency of bad and even blasphemous movies. It sometimes happens that even the life of Christ, Our Lady and the saints are portrayed in an irreverent or sacrilegious way. Earlier this year, in France, the appearance of the film Hail Mary, by Jean-Luc Godard caused a storm of protest by traditional Catholics and other decent-minded Christians because of its irreverent and profane treatment of the Incarnation. Unlike most of the French bishops, the Society of St. Pius X reacted swiftly and unequivocally in condemning the movie. Father Paul Aulagnier of the Society immediately issued a communique, explaining in no uncertain terms why the movie was bad. For the text of Father's letter as well as the following account we are indebted to the French publication Fideliter.

Father Aulagnier's Letter

All the news media have taken note of the appearance of a film of Mr. Jean-Luc Godard entitled Hail Mary. The public was also informed that the appeals in the courts by various Catholic associations, attempting to block the showing or at least suppress the more offensive scenes, was rejected.

The film Hail Mary deliberately and scandalously insults what we priests and faithful hold most dear after Our Lord Jesus Christ: the most Blessed Virgin Mary. This film is sheer blasphemy.

To attack the purity of her who was Purity itself, to depict in the nude the Mother of Our Savior like an ordinary prostitute, to have a certain Joseph pronounce obscene words, to introduce Gabriel as a crude, vulgar person; all this deeply wounds us.

It is with consternation that we are obliged to state that in this country, our own beloved France, where devotion to Our Lady, to Our Mother Most Pure, was proclaimed with such fervor for so many centuries, there is now a deliberate attempt to profane, to destroy everything that is decent, respectable, honorable. They wish at all costs to tear France away from the Christian Faith, to destroy not only Christian sentiments, but any sense of morality!

Joining the company of the most anti-clerical politicians from before and after the two World Wars, the Socialists who are martyring France make no secret of their desire to pervert everything. They actually boast about it. Mr. J. Lang, Minister of Culture, does not hesitate to affirm that in this instance, "We must stop going back to a moral order that everybody refuses."

Well, we are not part of that ilk. Perhaps we have not yet reached the point where they will drag us at gun-point to see this abomination, but we still have the duty of defending the moral order.

Without a doubt as well, apart from certain timid, half-hearted interventions, the French bishops keep silence. In particular the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Lustiger, and the President of the French Episcopal Conference, Mgr. Vilnet, who ought to have spoken out, have maintained a cowardly and complicitous silence. Even worse, they let the National Catholic Movie Association and the so-called Catholic press say that there is "nothing shocking in this film."

Eminences, and Your Excellencies, what are you waiting for, to make you rise up against those who deride a Mother so pure, a Mother undefiled, a Mother most chaste?

As the Superior of the French District of the Society of St. Pius X, and as a Catholic priest, I invite the faithful, and even non-Christians that still have spiritual and moral sensibilities, to unite in prayer, to protest by every legitimate means, against such an outrage.

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Sadly, not all the French clergy seemed to agree with Father Aulagnier. Writing in one of the Catholic papers, a priest actually said: "We must not run the risk of stifling creativity, of falling into artistic intolerance. A religious heritage is not the monopoly of Christians. We should rejoice (sic) that for some years allusions to the biblical message are finding their way into certain films . . . the Church nowadays is simply 'living with the times'!"

Now the movie itself had been bad enough, but this was adding insult to injury. It cannot be denied that the clergy, including the episcopate, were adding to the scandal, and Catholics faithful to Tradition publicly reproached them with it.

The episcopate, considered as a whole (for there are, thanks be to God, some exceptions), is giving scandal. It gives scandal more and more frequently. It gives scandal more and more gravely. It gives scandal in more and more areas of life and of faith, and even of morals. Lastly, it gives scandal, as time goes on, to a larger and larger number of Catholics, to a point where more and more of them give up practicing their religion and more and more of them, alas, lose their faith.

Meanwhile, many of the faithful responded to the appeal of the Society of St. Pius X and other groups, to protest and make reparation for this outrage. More than fifteen hundred Catholics took to the streets for a protest march at the Canebiere, carrying in procession a statue of the Most Holy Virgin, and banners saying, "Mary Queen of France," and "Bishops, where are you?"

At Nantes: "Diabolical Manifestations"

At Nantes, there were also protests against the film. The press accounts mention violence: attacks by punks, stink-bombs, tear-gas, policemen brandishing their truncheons and priests fighting them off with holy water! But what actually happened? They offered prayers of reparation; nothing more. One week, over four hundred people gathered together around a cinema which was showing the movie. On one of these evenings, about a dozen shaggy-haired "punks" attempted to disturb the gathering of these Christians. Although they bombarded the Catholics with buckets of water and stink-bombs, the latter remained on their knees, ignoring the disturbance, and continuing their prayers. Two police cars then came to stop the disturbance.

Seeing these "punks" unleashed, Fr. Didier Bonneterre and the courageous Catholics reciting the Rosary with him, were convinced that they were witnessing diabolical manifestations. Some of the "punks" acted like veritable possessed men. While they remained calm during the Hail Marys, at each Glory Be, they would shout, "Hurray for Judas!" and other blasphemies—or rather, insanities.

Because of this firm conviction, Fr. Bonneterre wrote an open letter to the people of Nantes, affirming his status as a Catholic priest of the Society of St. Pius X, explaining why they had come to pray in the street. At issue was the need ". . . to make reparation for a serious offense . . . to do it right on the scene of the crime, which for all Christians is a sacrilege."

Although this series of prayer meetings of reparation did not prevent the showing of the movie, it did have some effect. It made a definite impact on public opinion, and forced the local authorities to show a certain amount of respect for the traditionalists. However, the local clergy completely dissociated itself from these demonstrations, in spite of the fact that certain non-traditional Catholics joined in the rosaries. On the whole, the attitude of the public could be called one of relatively sympathetic curiosity.

And the bishops? The Bishop of Angers, Mgr. Ochampt, expressed his wish that "the showing of the movie not give rise to any demonstration of an aggressive character. All we need is another Godard!"

As for the Bishop of Nantes, Mgr. Marcus, he does deserve some credit for expressing some of his distress about the movie, in the following communique: "The more intellectual cinema-goers will argue it one way or the other. Meanwhile, others feel that they have been insulted in their faith. 'Hail Mary' is the prayer that they learned on their mother's lap. 'Hail Mary' is what they murmur without even thinking about it, when they find themselves in some grave danger. 'Hail Mary' remains the cry of pilgrims on the earth. Even those who have lapsed somewhat from the practice of their faith have it inscribed on their memories. A father or mother worried about the health of a child does not take long to remember it . . . The simple believers do not like it when they make fun of the 'Hail Mary.' Neither do I."

At Paris: In the Cold at the Champs Elysees

In Paris a similar rosary of reparation was prayed at the Champs Elysees on February 11th, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. As many as two thousand of the faithful gathered, answering the call of Fr. Philip Laguerie, Pastor of St. Nicholas du Chardonnet, the well-known traditional parish. Fr. Laguerie was joined by his assistant curates, some brothers of the Society of St. Pius X, and other traditional Catholic priests. The date was not chosen by chance, as there was a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes before the facade of the large cinema of the Champs Elysees, where the sacrilegious film was being shown.

Some policemen were present, and the entrances to the cinema were closed, shutting the spectators inside the hall. Numerous passers-by, used to traveling on the "most beautiful avenue of the world" were surprised but not hostile. Some of them stopped, astonished by the spectacle of Christians grouped around the statue of the Blessed Virgin, and their priests, reciting the rosary and some singing some of the familiar hymns to the Virgin. Thanks to a portable public address system the chants could be heard far and wide.

The police captain courteously stepped up and announced to Fr. Laguerie that since the demonstration was not authorized, he had orders to disperse it. The priest, with a smile, did a little negotiating: "Another quarter of an hour!" To the people who had come to see the film, but were prevented from entering the cinema, Fr. Laguerie said, "You've missed the performance, why not come join us?"

Then, after a rousing chant of The Magnificat., Fr. Laguerie had the people applaud the police for letting them stay. In spite of the cold weather, the faithful had manifested a warm enthusiasm, led by the Pastor of St. Nicholas, who said, "We are doing the work of the bishops!"

It was nearly 11:00 p.m. when the group dispersed, but not before some of the younger people, their heart unable to bear the sight of the Mother of the Savior insulted, went to tear down the impure, blasphemous poster in front of the cinema.

The police intervened. There were a few scuffles, some blows, and the smell of tear gas . . . but still, not a bad evening in all!