PARIS — The Catholic Church in France was once so powerful that it was considered a state within a state. In Roman Catholicism’s global hierarchy, France cemented its position as far back as the fifth century, when it became known as the “eldest daughter of the church.”
While Catholicism has ebbed across the Western world, its unrelenting decline in France is all the more striking given its past prominence. Now, a devastating church-ordered report on sexual abuse by the clergy released this week, after a similar reckoning elsewhere, was yet another degradation, further shaking what was once a pillar of French culture and society.
The report, which confirmed stories of abuse that have emerged over the years, shocked the nation with details of its magnitude, involving more than 200,000 minors over the past seven decades. It reverberated loudly in a […]
As a completely subjective, though first-hand opinion: I lived in France almost 3 years during the 1970s. As a Catholic, I found Masses in France to be fairly poorly attended back then, certainly when compared to my local church in the States. Also, I think the average French person looked askance at the Church. When I’d ask a French friend why, I’d receive a wary glance, a sigh, and “La guerre” as an explanation. Apparently, while there were individual priests in the Résistance, the Catholic Church backed the wrong horse during most of WW2, a stance never really forgiven by a goodly number of people. The sex abuse scandal might be the last straw, unless French Catholics actually can construct a “new” Church. The low stats don’t surprise me a bit in any case.
Thank you for this very interesting insight, Mary.