THE JESUITS AND THE DREYFUS AFFAIR
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about it... "Anyone who possesses writings of this servant of God must let us have them before the 30th of September 1956, be it printed books, handwritten notes, letters, memoranda... even instructions or advices not written by him, but which he dictated... "For all these communications, we designate Canon Dubois, secretary of our archbishopric, and promoter of faith for this cause".(100) Here is a "servant of God" well on the way to receive the just reward for his loyal services in the form of a halo. And we dare say that, as far as his "writings" are concerned and which were so carefully searched for, the "promoter of faith" will have too much to choose from. As for the "printed" material, the collection of "La Croix", especially between 1895 and 1899, will supply the most edifying kind. "Their attitude (of the Catholic newspapers), and especially the one of "La Croix", constitute at the moment for all "enlightened and upright minds", what M. Paul Violet, Catholic member of the Institute calls an "indescribable scandal"; and this scandal upholds, in the Dreyfus Affair, the most shocking mistakes, the lying and crime against truth, uprightness and justice. "The Court of Rome", he adds, "knows it, as all the Courts of Europe do".(101) Indeed, the Court of Rome knew better than anyone else! As we have seen, in 1956, she had not forgotten the pious exploits of this "servant of God" as she was preparing his beatification. No doubt, the promoter of faith credited our future "saint" with those famous lists of subscriptions in favour of the widow of the forger Henry, about which the Abbe Brugerette says: "Today, when we consider those calls for the Inquisition to be brought back, for the persecution of the Jews, for the murder of Dreyfus' defenders, it is like listening to the delirious imaginations of wild and grotesque fanatics. Nevertheless, these are presented to us by "La Croix" as a great, comforting and cheering spectacle".(102) All those pious wishes concerning the Jews, Father Bailly did not have the joy to see them realised, in his lifetime, by these wild fanatics, under the swastika. He could only take delight in that "great, comforting and cheering spectacle" from heaven, even though, up there, spectacles of that sort are quite common, according to the "learned", and especially Saint Thomas d'Aquin, the Angel of the School: "In order to help the saints enjoy their blessedness more, and increase their thanksgivings to God, they are allowed to contemplate in all its awfulness the torture of the godless... The saints will rejoice in the torments (100) "La Croix" of the 29th of May 1956. (101) Abbe Brugerette, op.cit., p.443. (102) Abbe Brugerette, op.cit., II, p.450.