In his first address as head of the French bishops’ conference, speaking at its autumn assembly, the cardinal proposed more profound discussions of identity, education and the role of religion in a secularised and polarised society. French bishops usually avoid criticism of the rising far-right or comment on the complex political scene.
Aveline also mentioned laïcité, the official separation of Church and State that marks its 120th anniversary late next year, observing that “each party bears its share of responsibility” for dialogue.
France is in “a period of multiple elections, which themselves have become unpredictable”, he observed. Citing resurgent antisemitism and “skilfully orchestrated propaganda”, he warned: “Democracy itself seems to be in danger.”
He suggested making a deeper theological study of the sexual abuse crisis to understand “what it reveals as flaws in our ecclesiology”, when some clerics and laymen become “too certain of the illusory impunity conferred upon them by their ordination or position”.
The result could be as courageous a reassessment of the Church’s self-understanding, he said, as John XXIII brought about by having the Second Vatican Council rethink Catholic-Jewish relations in the historic declaration Nostra Aetate.
Aveline addressed the “great and complex challenge” of integrating the surprising number of young adults baptised in recent years.
“This desire for identity gnaws at the hearts of many young people, and we must consider it positively, understand it, and nurture it, so that it is not exploited to serve as an alibi for dangerous identity-based tensions,” he said.
A three-year synodal review of Catholic education should strengthen the role of religious schools “to rebuild trust in a world marked by conflict and fear”.
The bishops also began a delicate discussion of whether and how to reintegrate clerics who have served time for abuse convictions. This is due to last several more assemblies.
In August, the conference unexpectedly asked the Archdiocese of Toulouse reverse its reappointment of a convicted sexual abuser – who served four years in prison for raping a student in the 1990s – as chancellor.
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I was the session’s special guest, bringing his trademark ecumenical message and warnings about current international tensions that Cardinal Aveline seconded.