Sarkozy the Catholic

On Friday Nicolas Sarkozy paid a visit to Pope Benedict in Rome. The hypocrisy behind such a journey was wryly noted by many critics from different perspectives - the "laïcards" (secularists) at Riposte Laïque believe he disgraced France by making the sign of the cross four times and reciting the Pater Noster, something the head of a country where "laïcité" reigns supreme must never do (they say). Others, closer to Catholicism, feel his trip was pure publicity designed to win over disgruntled Catholic voters who are now sorry they voted for him in 2007. Still others are critical of his unexpected request for a rosary from the Pope, to give as a gift to his wife's grand-niece. Does one ask the Pope for a gift? I don't know, but it would never occur to me to do it. The Pope graciously gave him the rosary, probably feeling it was better to give it than refuse. Who knows, it may bring solace to the girl. And France could use another rosary.

In an analysis of Sarkozy's latest electoral manipulations, Yves Daoudal, writing in his weekly journal Daoudal Hebdo #98, enumerates some of the feats Sarkozy is performing in his bid to be re-elected in 2012. First, he pretends to deport the Roma gypsies. Yes, they are deported, but if they so choose, they can return to France after their "vacation" in Rumania.

Then he turns to "Sarko the Catholic":

On a visit to Vézelay he rhapsodized over the Christian heritage of France, announced he would order restoration work to be done on Vézelay and, speaking of the "the long mantle of churches, basilicas and cathedrals on our territory," misquoted a line from an 11th century monk. The actual line reads: "You would have thought that when the world shook itself, it threw off its old clothes in order to cover itself in a white vestment of churches."

The mantle covering France is therefore white, not long. But Sarkozy probably finds the mantle a bit too long...

Daoudal then relates that while in Vézelay, Sarkozy attended a screening of the movie "Des hommes et des dieux" (Of Gods and Men), about the monks of Tibéhirine in Algeria, who were killed in still unexplained circumstances. Among other comments made by the president, who had visited Tibéhirine when he was still Interior Minister, this one stands out:

"In Tibéhirine, I understood the invincible strength of love and true meaning of the word 'tolerance.'"

And he did not fail to add that "brother Christian de Chergé does honor to secular and republican France." (sic)

Finally the visit to the Pope:

This is the crowning achievement of all that preceded it and set the stage for this great event. On September 8, Nicolas Sarkozy announced he was going to meet Benedict XVI. The Vatican spokesman drily responded to journalists: "If the French president has a request, it will be taken into consideration, according to the usual procedure." The uncouth man then condescended to make an official request. And, on September 28, the Vatican announced an October 8 meeting. Since I am writing this on October 6, I don't know what our president will say. But I'm sure it will be beautiful and very Catholic. Unfortunately, we won't have a photo of him with the world's most beautiful woman: for the obvious reason that the third wife of the twice-divorced president is not going on this trip...

Now, of course, we all know what Sarkozy said and did. Here is a short adaptation of the account of the trip from JDD:

Sobriety, serenity and spirituality. For his second visit to the Vatican, Nicolas Sarkozy avoided the errors in protocol of December 2007, when he was accompanied by a vulgar comedian named Jean-Marie Bigard, and by his wife Carla Bruni. The couple had not been married in a church.

Nicolas Sarkozy entered the room known as the "Little Throne Room" where a slightly tense Benedict XVI awaited him. "Hello, Mr. President", said the Pope, warmly shaking his hand. Nicolas Sarkozy answered: "I am very happy to see you once again". Benedict recalled his fond memories of his 2008 trip to France. "It is France that has a wonderful memory of your visit. It was a great success," complimented Sarkozy who was more and more relaxed. The two men went into the library for a discussion about which little is known except that it dealt with international matters.

The two exchanged gifts. Mémoires d'outre-tombe and Le Génie du Christianisme, two original editions by Chateaubriand (who was ambassador to the Holy See) offered by Sarkozy; a porcelain and an engraving of Saint Peter's offered by the Pope.

But the president wanted more. After the exchange of gifts, he leaned towards the successor of Saint Peter and asked for a rosary for his wife's grand-niece. No sooner said than done. Rather than being offended by this small twist on protocol, Benedict XVI had a secretary bring in a rosary. The Pope does not refuse the French president anything.

The article then describes the circumstances in which he made the sign of the cross four times, and his recitation of the Pater Noster, just before leaving the basilica.

Other websites have had much to say about this visit. A comment by Robert Marchenoir at Le Salon Beige indicates that Sarkozy's request for a rosary was completely out of line:

- This was gross. The gifts offered weren't enough for him. He felt perfectly entitled to ask for another. With the excuse that it wasn't for him. The Pope did not offer gifts to Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, he offered them to the President of the French Republic. What does the grand-niece of Madame have to do with this?

Not to mention the electoral objective of his action.

Another comment:

- If he thinks we're going to vote for him as a result of this visit, he is sadly mistaken. Those who turned in a blank ballot (in 2007) did so because of the non-negotiable points and because of his wretched record as minister of the Interior. The points are still there, but in addition we have had to put up with his crazy ideas and his flashy life-style that we did not know about at the time.

Note: The non-negotiable points of the Church relate to ethical issues such as cloning, abortion, euthanasia, etc... Catholic voters who wanted to vote for Sarkozy in 2007 had to wrestle with themselves before going to the polls that day. Some abstained, some left the ballot blank, but many did vote for him.

Really, they think Catholics are idiots. The Holy Father must have laughed to himself even though his affection for the former Eldest Daughter of the Church is still great and he must feel great pity for us.

But Nicolas Sarkozy is not the only French president to have asked for a rosary. According to another comment:

- On this topic, I have an anecdote in the same vein on a meeting between François Mitterand and Pope John-Paul II (if my memory serves me correctly, there was a story on this in Paris-Match at the time). Danielle Mitterand did not dare ask the Pope for a rosary, so her husband asked for it instead on her behalf.

It's interesting that two of the most disastrous presidents in recent French history asked for a rosary. And in both cases it was for someone else. Maybe it is not unusual to ask the Pope for a rosary, but when a head of State does it, the effect is an embarassment for his country.

More of a faux-pas, I feel, was his comment about Christian de Chergé, reported above. To say that this monk brought honor to secular and republican France is to insult the monks and the Cistercian order. He should have said that Christian de Chergé brought honor to France. But that would have been too traditional...