Psychologies Magazine, June 2002 —
“Do not be afraid!” This injunction recurs 365 times in the Bible. In the Old Testament, God speaks thus to his prophets to reassure them against the terror they feel in approaching the Creator. This call to overcome fear runs through the entire Gospel in a broader sense and concerns more the fear of the other. No longer listen to the voice of fear but to that of love, Christ says in essence. Share, even if you are afraid of missing out; give to those who ask you, even if you fear they will bother you again; welcome the stranger, even if he frightens you; come out of withdrawal into yourselves and open your heart wide. Love is presented by Jesus as the opposite and antidote to fear, which spontaneously governs the human heart, which will be judged only on love.
This is the whole meaning of the Gospel message, summed up in the famous scene of the Last Judgment: "Come to me, you who are blessed by my Father; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, a prisoner and you came to me" (Matthew 25:35). Since the 18th century and the Enlightenment, this message has become secularized, inspiring the discourse of human rights and becoming the very substance of the values of socialism.
"Do not be afraid! Enter into hope!" When I heard, on the evening of the first round of the presidential election, the leader of the National Front allude to the words of Christ, repeated by John Paul II at the beginning of his pontificate, I felt shivers down my spine. For if socialism imbues itself with evangelical values while forgetting the source, here we cite the source while turning our backs on the values. "Do not be afraid!" in the mouth of Mr. Le Pen, it becomes the opposite of the Gospel. Do not tremble any longer before the immigrant threat! If we are elected, we will drive the Arabs and destitute foreigners out of France as Joan of Arc once drove the English out! We will reinstate the death penalty and put a guardian of order on every street corner! As several bishops have emphasized, nothing is more opposed to the National Front's program than the evangelical message.
The notion of "national preference" is strongly opposed by Christ. Scandalizing his disciples who, in the name of the privilege of the Israelite nation, cannot allow the good news of salvation to be announced to pagan nations, Jesus proclaims a universal religion, where there is no longer any discrimination between men, where all, whatever their country or race, are called to the same salvation. After the death of Christ, Paul will still have to fight to impose this vision in the face of the skepticism of the apostles: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Mr. Le Pen has the right to think and say what he wants, but he should stop referring to the Gospels, which unequivocally condemn his message.
June 2002