Edmond Paris - The Secret History of the Jesuits

(This particular one fled to Spain at the Liberation. He came back to France on the 1st of July 1958, gave himself up, but was immediately released on a temporary basis by the president of the High-Court of Justice!) The extremely well documented book of M. Andre Guerber gives details of payments allocated to these traitors by the German SR. This money was well and truly earned, for their work was very effective. Besides, the atmosphere had been prepared for a long time, now. To "regenerate" the land according to the wishes of the Catholic Action, a whole brood of apprentice-dictators, on the model of Leon Degrelle, had hatched, men like Deat, Bucard, Doriot who was—according to M. Andre Guerber—"agent No.56 BK of the German Secret Service". Of all this motley band he was also the one best thought of by the archbishopric and those well-disposed towards them... and, of course, by Hitler who, later on at Sigmaringen, gave him full power.

Doriot was the rising star; but, for the immediate future and to treat cautiously the transition after the foreseen and wanted defeat, another man was needed, a highly respected military chief who would be able to dress up

(96) Franz von Papen: "Memoires" (Flammarion, Paris 1953, p.91). (97) Andre Guerber: "Himmler et ses crimes" (Les Documents Nuit et Jour, Paris, 1981)

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the disaster and present it as a "national recovery".

In 1936 already, Canon Coube wrote: "The Lord who brought forth Charlemagne and the heroes of the Crusades can still raise up saviours...

Amongst us, there must be men whom He has marked with His seal and who will be revealed when his time has come... Amongst us, there must be men of the cloth who are the workmen in the great national restorations. But what are the necessary conditions they need to accomplish this mission? Natural qualities of intelligence and character; also supernatural qualities that is to say obedience to God and His Law is just as indispensable, as this political work is moral and religious before anything else. These saviours are men with generous hearts who work only for the glory of God..."(98) When the disciple of Loyola expounded these political and religious thoughts, he knew who this pious "saviour" would be, as his name was not a secret amongst clerics and fascists; this is told us by M. Francois Ternand:

"A clever and persistant propaganda campaign began in favour of a

"Petain dictatorship"...

"In 1935, Gustave Herve published a pamphlet which we are going to examine... The tract is entitled "We need Petain"... its foreword is an enthusiastic apology of the "Italian recovery" and "the even more amazing recovery of Germany", also an exaltation of the wonderful chiefs who were the authors of these recoveries. Now what about our own French people?... There is a man around whom we could gather... We also have a providential man... Do you want to know his name? It is Petain".

"We need Petain", for the homeland is in a dangerous position; and not only the homeland, but Catholicism also: "Christian civilisation is condemned to death if a dictatorial regime is not set up in every country"...

"Listen: "In peace time, a regime can only be swept away by a coup d'Etat if it is willing or if it has no support from the army and administrations. The operation can be a success only through a war and especially a defeat".(99) So, the path to follow was already made clear in 1935 to "re-christianise"

France, the regime had to be swept away, and the best way to attain this was to suffer a military defeat which would place us under the German yoke. In 1943, this was confirmed by Pierre Laval, the pope's count and president of the Vichy government:

"I hope Germany will be victorious. It may seem strange to hear the one who is defeated wish for the victor's victory. It is because this war is not like previous ones. It is a true war of religion! Yes, a war of religion".(100) (98) Canon Coube: "Sainte Therese de l'Enfant Jesus et les crises du temps present", (Flammarion, Paris 1936, pp.165 ss). Imprimatur: 11th of January 1936.

(99) Francois Tenand: "L'Ascension politique du Marechal Petain", (Ed. du livre francais, Paris 1946, pp.40 ss).

(100) National Radio, 2nd of January 1943.

JESUIT MOVEMENT IN FRANCE BEFORE AND DURING THE 1939-1945 WAR 159

This indeed was what the Church wanted, even though unpleasant for the forgetful Jesuit Fessard, whom we mentioned earlier on, who doesn't want to know any more what was said on the American radio for the 20 million listeners of the "Christian Front", by his Loyolan brother Father Coughlin:

"The German war is a battle for Christianity".(101) But during the same period, in occupied France, Cardinal Baudrillart, rector of the Catholic Institute in Paris, was saying the same thing. Listen to him:

"Hitler's war is a noble enterprise undertaken for the defence of European culture".(102)

So, on both sides of the Atlantic, as indeed all over the world, the clerical voices were singing the praises of victorious Nazism.

In France, Cardinal Suhard, archbishop of Paris, set the example to all the episcopate by "collaborating" fully, and so did the Jesuit nuncio Monseigneur Valerio Valeri.

After the Liberation, the government asked the Vatican to recall no less than thirty bishops and archbishops who were deeply compromised. In the end, it consented to recall three of them.

"France has forgotten...", wrote M. Maurice Nadeau. 'La Croix', the most dangerous mouthpiece at the service of collaboration, takes its place amongst the publications of a liberated France; the prelates who were urging the French youth to work for the victory of Germany have not been brought to trial".(103)

One could read in "Artaban" of the 13th of December 1957:

"In 1944, 'La Croix' was prosecuted for having favoured the enemy and brought before the Court of Justice in Paris; the case was put in the hands of Judge Raoult who dismissed it. The affair was discussed at the Chamber, on the 13th of March 1946 (see J.O. Parliamentary Debates, pages 713-714) and it was learned, then, that M. de Menthon, minister for Justice and thorough at purging the French press, had spoken in favour of'La Croix'.

In fact, "the voice of pontifical thought"—as Pius XII called it, in 1942, when sending it his blessing—was the only one exempted from the general measures taken to suppress all the newspapers published during the occupation, even though, as 'Artaban' reminds us:

"'La Croix' received instructions from the German Lieutenant Sahm and, in Vichy, from Pierre Laval".

Of course, the 'pontifical thought' and hitlerian instructions happily coincided. This is confirmed when we study the war-time editions of this estimable paper.

(101) 7th of July 1941.

(102) 30th of July 1941. ,

(103) Foreword to "L'Eglise a-t-elle collabore"?, by Jean Cotereau (Spartacus, Paris, May 1946).

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One of the Jesuits' attributions, and not one of the least important, is to supervise all the Catholic press. In the various papers adapted to the need of their readers, they bring out, as necessary, the various shades of the

'pontifical thought' which, under its undulating aspects, nevertheless reaches implacably towards its aims. There is not one "Christian newspaper or periodical that does not enjoy the collaboration of some-discreet—Jesuits.

These Fathers who are "all things to all men" are of course the best at playing Chameleons. This they did, as we know, and, after the Liberation, we had the surprise to see coming up, everywhere, Fathers "who had belonged to the resistance" (they joined it later than others!), and who testified that the Church had NEVER NEVER "collaborated".

Forgotten, abolished, evaporated were the articles of 'La Croix' and other Catholic newspapers, the episcopal mandates, the pastoral letters, the official communications from the Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops, the exhortations of Cardinal Baudrillart calling on French youths to don the nazi uniform and serve in the L.V.F. after having taken an oath of allegiance to Hitler! All this was past and forgotten!