The Diary of Father Congar
A priest, friend of mine, read the theological diary of Father
Congar when it was just coming from the press. He wrote to me:
" It is distressing, can this come back?"
I started to read these horrendous passages written during the
dark hours of the Roman Church (1946-1956). The Curia and their
devoted servants were humiliating the Dominican priest without
letting him know what exactly his fault was. Father Congar was
reduced to silence. He had to experience exile, solitude, and
disarray. The letter that he wrote to his mother for her 80 birthday
is distressing: "They practically destroyed me as much
as they could. All That I worked for has been removed from me:
ecumenism, teaching, lecturing, preaching the priests and collaboration
with the newspaper Temoignage Chretien. They did not get my body
and in principle neither my soul, I was never asked anything.
But the personality of a man is not limited to his own skin and
to his soul, more so when this man is an apostle of the doctrine,
that is his action, his friends, his relationships, his normal
way to communicate. They removed all that from me, they had no
respect for all that and they profoundly wounded me. They reduced
me to nothing and then they destroyed me".
How much this man has suffered from the Church, this Church to
what he had devoted his life! A short while after his death in
1995, a Dominican friar said to me: " Father Congar wrote
to you when you were dismissed by Rome.
| I believe he would have appreciated to have an answer from you" Unfortunately this letter never reached me, I will never know its content! |
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The orchard of Spain |
- I went to Murcia, capital of the region and the orchard
of Spain. I was still remembering the drama that recently happened
there: the tragic death of twelve people from Equator crammed
together in a delivery van.
After a lecture during the Cultural Week on Immigration, I met immigrants without a legal permit, a majority from Equator, they had occupied a church. They were appreciating very much my visit; probably they could see that I considered them like brothers not like problems. Although without a legal permit they keep their dignity. They asked me to bless their food that was generously offered to them.
In Molina, twenty kilometers away, about fifty immigrants were also occupying a church. They knew that the new Spanish law on immigration was condemning them to become illegal persons or to be expulsed. They were becoming illegal.
I said" It is not you who are dangerous, it is the law that is dangerous!" They well received my message!With the help of the population, and in relationships with other foreigners taking a refuge in the churches of Barcelona, they decided to resist. 
Sunday morning, in the sunshine, there is a demonstration in front of the Saint Dominique church in Murcia. One can read on the banners: "Papeles, para todos" (a legal permit for all).
Before leaving, I left a message: "when we struggle together we often win"
| A secular spirituality |
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I met in Cannes the masons from different lodges of the Cote
d'Azur. To accommodate the number of people, the room in the
basement was installed with audio-visual presentations. I was
given the theme of my speech: "Does Man needs a religion?
As often the questions are much more informative. Not believing
in God does not mean necessarily that you are not having some
spirituality. Not belonging to a Church does not mean that you
have no belief. One can reject dogmas and so-called revealed
religions without given up some transcendence; a transcendence
without God. It is a secular spirituality, it is a wisdom built
on values that respect the dignity of the other man.
After the meeting we had a friendly and happy meal together.
It is late when the "Worshipful master" lead me to
his home in the countryside. The Bay of Cannes offered its magnificent
landscape to feast our yes, the mimosas were in full bloom….
In the Court
On the train to Montpellier, there was sitting in front of me a wonderful comedian.
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Both of us were going to the trial of Jose Bove (speaker of a Farmers Union: Confederation Paysanne) and his followers. |
This comedian will play the part of Punch in a Punch and Judy show, where Judy is accused of devastating a field of popcorn. They will play for the public on the esplanade in front of the Corum. They will make a mockery of the trial, a joke against the powerful ones!
I went rapidly to the law courts closely surrounded by the police. A liturgy was going to start with the hearing of the witnesses. What a free speech! Every body could recognize the amount of experience, of struggles and of suffering of these people. For instance a women from Mauritania spoke about distressed peasants deprived of their possessions, who struggle to live without the possibility to organize themselves and to fight: the revolt of the Farmers Union give them some hope she said.
| A great moment will be the speeches for the defense by the six lawyers. They will recall that Justice is to respect the right and it is also giving the right to those who are deprived of it. |
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In the given circumstances, the accused persons conducted a legitimate action. Jean-Jacques Rousseau had said: "If the people make the promise to abide by, they destroy themselves and they lose the quality to be people"
Outside, the Carnival against the global economy is ready, with a joyful crowd. Of course Mister Punch is sure to have a great success….