Posted on 04/10/2018 9:26:25 PM PDT by Olog-hai
Remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that he wanted to repair church-state ties caused uproar Tuesday, sparking charges he was tampering with France’s longstanding secular tradition.
The Church and the state were for centuries virtually indistinguishable in France, but the 1789 Revolution marked the first step by republicans to exclude religion from government affairs, codified in a 1905 law separating the two. But tensions have persisted, with conservative politicians often accusing officials of denying France’s cultural heritage — as seen in efforts to install nativity scenes at town halls during Christmas.
Macron, who prides himself on tackling difficult issues head-on, told a meeting of bishops on Monday that he hoped to repair relations with the Church through a “dialogue of truth”.
“We intuitively share the feeling that the bond between the Church and the state has been damaged, and that both you and I need to repair it,” Macron said. […]
The unusual foray by a French leader onto religious territory sparked outrage among critics, not least since they come at a time of heightened tensions with France’s Muslim population after a series of deadly jihadist attacks in the country. “Macron in full-on metaphysical delirium. Outrageous. One expects a president; one gets a little priest,” Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the left-wing France Unbowed party, said on Twitter. “Secularism is the jewel in our crown. That is what a president of the republic should be defending,” newly installed Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said in a tweet. …
(Excerpt) Read more at thelocal.fr ...
The French no doubt are coming to realize the consequences of the enormous self imposed cultural upheaval. Macron is no doubt is a bit wistful. However soon the ability to speak Arabic will be a prerequisite for French leaders.
Vive le France! France is back!
Yes, Macron has been better than I thought.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen called his comments the start of an attack on strict secularism enshrined by the 1905 law -- hinting it would give religious authorities of all stripes more influence in French society.
"In reality this is aimed at changing the law of 1905, and I can tell Catholics that it won't be them who will benefit from such a change," she told RTL radio.
On certain issues. He’s still a big cheerleader for the EU though.
Ping!
Well, for France, it’s probably about as good as it’s going to get.
Visit my ebay page. French guns from WWI and WWII. Never fired, dropped once.
Ya know for a country that owes its heritage to a teenager named Joan they sure do hate the Church.
....and we're coming up on Friday the 13th this week. Good thing they already rounded up those Templers /sarcasm.
*****”In reality this is aimed at changing the law of 1905, and I can tell Catholics that it won’t be them who will benefit from such a change,”*****
On this point she is absolutely right.
Secularism ran France dry and Muslim radicalism stepped in to fill the vacuum. Anti-Semitism also a pre-existing problem.
Christianity can only benefit from more acceptance of its role in public life and more religious freedom in general...so that people can express and share their faith without repercussion...
More faith-sharing is a good thing. It is an unpopular point to make on these boards but: Muslims can and do in fact convert to Christ...
Better to offer Christ as an alternative than a postmodern existential wasteland.
I had a look at the French 1905 law. I noticed that the USSR’s law on “freedom of conscience” is very similar.
Perhaps it’s Islam he wants to promote.
Hard to say that about WW1.
Bolsheviks were inspired by French Revolution of 1789...and everything following. They just copied each point from France and took things to their extreme / maximal points.
On a positive note: Russians copied ballet from France...and made it even better.
Bolsheviks were actually inspired more by the Paris Commune.
The law of 1905 annulled Napoleon’s 1804 Concordat with the Church that made Catholicism the official state religion of France. It made the recognized religions independent communities for the first time and mandated the state remain neutral in matters of religion and conscience. Lacite is a fundamental French value.
That sounds like a textbook definition.
If France wanted to do it right, they would have looked to the USA’s First Amendment. But no; they went against the “negative liberty” approach and started saying “The Republic recognizes” this or that, giving them the freedom to take anything away at will. And again, the similarities that the USSR laws garnered from this indicate inherent problems that lead to the perceived backlash that was even started under Sarkozy when he tried to come out with so-called “positive laïcité”.
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