France: Council of State Breaks Restriction on Attendance at Mass

On the occasion of the second lockdown, the government issued a decree on October 29 banning all public religious celebrations beginning on November 3. Only funerals, within the limit of 30 people, and weddings, within the limit of 6 people, were authorized.

First Eemergency Release Proceeding

The reactions were not long in coming. As of October 30, a request for interim relief was filed by the Conference of Bishops of France and by several traditional Catholic associations. Sadly ! On November 7, the Council of State rejected the request for the public celebration of Masses during confinement. The summary judge recalled that it was possible to go to church “to worship there on an individual basis.”

On the same day, Parliament adopted the law extending the state of health emergency until February 16, 2021, with the establishment of a transitional regime until April 1, - this exceptional regime allows the government to have recourse to ordinances, freeing itself from parliamentary debate.

Beginning Sunday November 8, all over France, demonstrations were organized to protest against the restrictions imposed on Catholics. Faced with the multiplication of rallies, on November 13, the Minister of the Interior began to make threats. “I do not wish to send the police and gendarmes to issue ticket to believers in front of a church, but if this is a repeated act and clearly against the laws of the Republic, I will do it this weekend.”

This did not prevent some demonstrations from being held on Sunday, November 15.

Mediation Cut Short

On November 16, by virtue of the decision of the Council of State, Jean Castex and Gérald Darmanin spoke by videoconference with Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort. The bishops hoped for some gesture from the government, but nothing happened. The government maintained that Masses could not be celebrated in the presence of the faithful before December 1.

This doused all hope. Some bishops cursed, others cowered. The faithful did not want to stop there. The demonstrations continued on Sunday, November 22, bringing together hundreds of worshipers. The bishops were divided faced with this resistance from the Catholics: some supported it, even encouraged it, while others disavowed it.

The movement visibly unsettled the local authorities, who used every trick to oppose these disturbing demonstrations. The Society of Saint Pius X had to submit a dozen emergency appeals during this period to continue this campaign. Finally, with the start of deconfinement, a new affront was applied to Catholics by the decree of November 27, limiting participation in liturgical ceremonies to 30 faithful, regardless of the capacity of the building.

The Second Emergency Appeal

The indignation was general. Episcopal protests went so far as to announce passive resistance to the decree, deemed “impossible to achieve.” Bishop Ginoux thus announced publicly that he would waive the limitation. More discreetly, other bishops did the same. Faced with this unexpected gale, the government retreated, and announced rapid measures to raise the capacity.

Seeing nothing coming after two days, the bishops decided to file a new emergency appeal. Other associations, like Civitas, did the same. This appeal, processed by the Council of State on Sunday, November 29, finally overturned the decree limiting the participation of the faithful to 30 people for liturgical services. The government now has three days to rectify the situation.

That same Sunday, the Society of Saint Pius X organized a protest followed by an open-air mass on Place Vauban in Paris. A new emergency appeal was necessary to maintain it ... The demonstration and the Mass gathered several hundred people.

It is gratifying to see that the bishops have raised their heads somewhat in the face of government bullying, and have taken initiatives which have finally borne fruit. Even if it appears that they were mobilized by a more determined and enterprising base. Let us hope that this new will is the dawn of a return of Catholicism and its values ​​in the French social landscape.