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Gallus Gallo Lupus. The French are wolves to each other. Yet the fraternal conflict engendered by the Vatican's dismissal of Bishop Jacques Gaillot of Evreux is extreme--even for France. Men and women who believe in a God of love and who strive to love their enemies treat fellow Catholics who differ in their estimate of Pere Jacques as if they were schismatics or Protestants. Unsubstantiated allegations of homosexuality, of racism and anti-Semitism, of psychosis and neurosis are thrown around by responsible and highly placed people. The Gaillot affair has dealt a body blow to the ancient eglise de France, ripping old scars wide open. Cardinal Pierre Eyt, archbishop of Bordeaux--a prelate who has Rome's ear--doubts that the Vatican appreciates just how torn apart his countrymen are. It is a sign of the times that when asked what sort of epitaph he would like to see affixed to his episcopate one day, the cardinal replies, "a traditional moderate who tried to hold onto the old Catholic liberal wing because he knew they were sincere."
The Gaillot affair has provoked more than a few reactions in the United States. Despite considerable attention in the New York Times and the National Catholic Reporter, the story has yet to receive dispassionate consideration. I spent six weeks in France this past summer trying to sort through the issues. I would be lying if I claimed that I arrived in Paris without a point of view. Subsequent researches and interviews (on and off the record), with more than twenty-five people, including most of the large cast of this French melodrama, as well as with a number of leading prelates, taught me a lesson I never seem to learn well enough: Things are not always what they seem. It is tendentious and wrongheaded to hurl abuse at the Vatican for acting (or reacting) as it did, but it is equally true that the bishop of Evreux has a great deal to be said for himself and his views. In the end, a reasonable person can understand both sides quite clearly, even sympathize with them. One's final judgment on the matter will be largely a product of what one thinks a bishop should be.
Jacques Gaillot was appointed to the see of Evreux...