Le Monde des religions, November-December 2005 —
Even though I am reluctant to discuss in these pages a work I co-authored, I cannot help but say a word about Abbé Pierre's latest book, which touches on highly topical subjects and is likely to stir up strong emotions. For nearly a year, I collected the reflections and questions of the founder of Emmaus on a wide range of themes—from religious fanaticism to the problem of evil, including the Eucharist and original sin.
Of the twenty-eight chapters, five are devoted to questions of sexual morality. Given the strictness of John Paul II and Benedict XVI on this subject, Abbé Pierre's remarks seem revolutionary. Yet, if one reads carefully what he says, the founder of Emmaus remains quite measured. He expresses support for the ordination of married men, but strongly affirms the necessity of maintaining consecrated celibacy. He does not condemn same-sex unions, but wishes that marriage remain a social institution reserved for heterosexuals. He believes that Jesus, being fully human, necessarily felt the force of sexual desire, but he also asserts that nothing in the Gospel allows us to determine whether or not he yielded to it. Finally, in a somewhat different but equally sensitive area, he points out that no decisive theological argument seems to oppose the ordination of women and that this question stems primarily from the evolution of attitudes, which have been marked to this day by a certain disdain for the "weaker sex."
If Abbé Pierre's remarks are bound to cause a stir within the Catholic Church, it is not because they tend to absolve the moral relativism of our time (which would be a very unfair accusation), but because they open a discussion on the truly taboo subject of sexuality. And it is because this debate was frozen by Rome that the remarks and questions posed by Abbé Pierre are crucial for some, and unsettling for others. I witnessed this debate within Emmaus itself before the book's publication, when Abbé Pierre shared the manuscript with those around him. Some were enthusiastic, others uneasy and critical. I would also like to pay tribute here to the various leaders of Emmaus who, whatever their opinion, respected their founder's decision to publish the book as it stood. To one of them who was concerned about the considerable space devoted to questions of sexuality in the book—and even more so about how the media would report on it—Abbé Pierre pointed out that these questions of sexual morality ultimately occupy a very small place in the Gospels. But it was because the Church attached great importance to these questions that he felt compelled to address them, as many Christians and non-Christians were shocked by the Vatican's intransigent positions on issues that do not pertain to the foundations of the faith and deserve genuine debate.
I fully agree with the viewpoint of the founder of Emmaus. I would add: if the Gospels—to which we are dedicating this issue—do not dwell on these questions, it is because their primary purpose is not to establish an individual or collective morality, but to open each person's heart to an abyss capable of transforming and reorienting their life. By focusing too much on dogma and norms to the detriment of simply proclaiming Jesus' message of "Be merciful" and "Do not judge," hasn't the Church become, for many of our contemporaries, a real obstacle to discovering the person and message of Christ? No one is perhaps better placed today than Abbé Pierre, who has been one of the best witnesses of the Gospel message for seventy years, to be concerned about it.
*Abbé Pierre, with Frédéric Lenoir, "My God... Why?" Short meditations on the Christian faith and the meaning of life, Plon, October 27, 2005.