"The Spectacle of a Double Collapse, of the Church and of the State"

We are grateful to David Critchley for providing us with a translation of the Foreword to a recently published collection of essays by the eminent French traditionalist Jean-Pierre Maugendre: Quand la mer se retire: La tragédie de l’Église au XXIe siècle (When the Sea Withdraws: the Tragedy of the Church in the 21st Century) (Contretemps, 2024). Hopefully this entire book will be translated soon. Meanwhile, the Foreword itself is worth sharing for its directness and plain speech.

Foreword by Michel de Jaeghere

The Deplorable Situation in Fréjus-Toulon: Coercion of Conscience and Contempt of Constitutions

Bishop Touvet’s Persecution of Traditional Liturgists

Jean-Pierre Maugendre

Renaissance catholique

October 17, 2024

At the 3rd Assises de la Tradition, held in Paris on October 12, participants were somewhat stunned to discover the latest developments in Mgr Touvet’s persecution of traditional liturgists in the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon.

Bishop Touvet’s abuse of power

While some may have believed that Mgr Touvet, appointed in 2023 as Mgr Rey’s coadjutor in the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, would succeed in maintaining the unity of the diocese, the facts seem to contradict these optimistic prospects. Indeed, while it is now well known that Mgr Touvet is still blocking the ordinations of the Missionaries of Divine Mercy (see our September 20, 2024 column, Missionaries of Mercy. Still no ordinations), other damning facts have been brought to the attention of the indignant public by Lex orandi union spokesman Philippe Darantière.