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The centenary of the law on secularism, that decreed the separation between Church and State in France, has opened a wide-ranging debate in the country, in which not only Catholic bishops, but also the representatives of the other Christian Churches and members of the Islamic communities have taken part. To mark the occasion the Pope has sent a letter to the president of the French bishops, Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard, in which he stresses that the establishment of relations of mutual trust between Church and State cannot but have “positive effects” for the life of any country. What’s needed, therefore, is to put in place a “legitimate and healthy secularism”. “Instead of adopting an antagonistic stance, the social forces ought therefore to be always at the service of the population living in France”. We present a reflection by CHARLES Delhez , editor in chief of the review “Dimanche, on the issue”. The law on the separation between Church and State was voted a hundred years ago in France. Christians considered themselves rejected and experienced real persecutions as a result. Since then, things have changed a lot. The Church has rediscovered a place for itself in society, probably a more modest but also a more just one. On 15 February this year, in a letter sent to the bishops of France, John Paul II grasped the occasion of the centenary to praise a “healthy and legitimate secularism” (to quote the expression of Pius XII) and to recognise the need for a separation of powers. So a page has been turned. The time has now come to think of future projects. The Pope invites the Church not to miss this chance. And he cites the 2nd century letter of Diognetus, in which we read, with regard to the Christians: “So noble is the place that God has assigned them that they are not permitted to leave it empty”. Initially, recalls the Bishop of Rome, the French law relegated religion to the private sphere, and transformed religious life into a mere personal sentiment. Yet man is at once personal and social in all his dimensions, including that of his spiritual life. It is therefore essential, in a period in which our Western society is seeking its own identity, to ensure that all the forces concur to the common good, each in its own sector of competence. “The ‘non-confessionality’ of the State (…) permits all the components of society to work together at the service of everyone and of the national community” as a whole, writes the Pope. Moreover, recognition of the religious dimension is the best antidote to the risk of religions “seeking refuge in a kind of sectarianism that could represent a danger for the State itself”. So a century had to elapse before a more serene secularism was achieved. Human history progresses at the rhythm of tensions and conflicts. Depending on phase, some of these tensions are fruitful for the future, while others are reactionary. In a similar way, three centuries were needed for the Roman Empire to put an end to the persecution of the disciples of Christ. Today, almost everyone recognises that the Gospel brought with it an impulse of humanity. The socialist movement was, in its time, an anticipated response to the uncontrolled liberalism that was already glimpsed on the horizon. When conflicts make way for mutual enrichment, we cannot but rejoice.
