The French Church and Current Problems of Peace and War An Evolving Debate
Identifieur interne : 000455 ( Istex/Corpus ); précédent : 000454; suivant : 000456The French Church and Current Problems of Peace and War An Evolving Debate
Auteurs : Jean KleinSource :
- Security Dialogue [ 0967-0106 ] ; 1984-07.
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- Teeft :
- Armament industry, Arms race, Catholic church, Christi, Christian churches, Conventional weapons, Current problems, Defence, Deterrence, Documentation catholique, Encyclical letter, Federal republic, French bishops, French church, French episcopate, French government, French section, General assembly, Human communities, International relations, Massive reprisals, Monseigneur menager, November, Nuclear arms, Nuclear deterrence, Nuclear strategy, Nuclear weapons, Paix, Pastoral constitution, Pope john paul, Progressive disarmament, Protestant federation, Same time, Security system, Special number, West german bishops.
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DOI: 10.1177/096701068401500305
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<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Klein</surname><given-names>Jean</given-names></name><aff>Centre National de la Reserche Scientifique Institut Francais des Relations Internationales, Paris</aff></contrib></contrib-group>
<pub-date pub-type="ppub"><month>7</month><year>1984</year></pub-date><volume>15</volume><issue>3</issue><fpage>219</fpage><lpage>226</lpage><custom-meta-wrap><custom-meta xlink:type="simple"><meta-name>sagemeta-type</meta-name><meta-value>Journal Article</meta-value></custom-meta><custom-meta xlink:type="simple"><meta-name>search-text</meta-name><meta-value>219 The French Church and Current Problems of Peace and War An Evolving Debate SAGE Publications, Inc.1984DOI: 10.1177/096701068401500305 Jean Klein Centre National de la Reserche Scientifique Institut Francais des Relations Internationales, Paris * Dr. Jean Klein is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Scientific Research, French Institute of International Relations, Paris. 1. The issue of nuclear deterrence The declaration of the French bishops: 'Gagner la paix' ('To Win Peace'), adopted at Lourdes on 8th November 1983, immediately aroused passionate reactions, and numerous Christians reject it on the grounds that it endorses France's nuclear strategy and does not place enough emphasis on 'alternative' formulae such as non-violent civil defence. This negative attitude is evident particularly in the bodies and movements which militate for peace and is expressed most vigorously in publications such as Témoignage Chretien ( `Christian Testimony') and L' Actualité religieiise dans le monde ('Christian Reality in the World').' It corresponds to a widespread feeling in the circles of leftist Catholicism which was evidenced in the 1950s and 1960s by a rejection of the 'force de frappe' (French nuclear force) and which has identified itself since with the currents of nuclear pacifism, in spite of the Socialist and Communist parties rallying to the strategy of deterrence. It is not, then, surprising that just this reminder of the Church's doctrine on the conditional legitimacy of deterrence as a mode of organization for the security of States and human communities has raised such storms and met with resistance from all those who affirm the incompatibility of nuclear weapons and the precepts of the Gospel. In this respect, it is fitting to recall that confusion has sometimes deliberately been sustained as regards the positions taken by the churches concerning war and peace, and that in France, the discretion which has long been observed by the Episcopal body on these subjects has permitted the views of the opposition to be blown up out of all proportion, and declarations of the clergy who expressed doubts on the morality of the strategy directed against cities have reverberated widely. One still remembers the trenchant judgements of the ex-Bishop of Orl6ans, Monseigneur Riobe, on French military policy, and the well-known in- terpellation of Admiral de Joybert, asking clergymen to confine themselves to spiritual work and not to get themselves involved in what did not concern them: 'Gentlemen of the sacristy, mind your own business Moreover, the French Committee 'Justice et Paix' ('Justice and Peace'), which was instituted to be an Episcopal think-tank and which is chaired by the Archbishop of Reims, Monseigneur Menager, did not hide its reservations about deterrence, and in the spring of 1983 it published a brochure taking it to task. For the outside observer, these stands taken were supposed to engage the authority of the Church, when all they did was retlect personal opinions and feelings and not necessarily the feelings of the majority of Catholics. The army chaplaincy and the group of 'Christian officers' have never subscribed to these arguments; while the French section of the International Catholic Movement Pax Cristi adopted in this respect more nuanced positions. In short, the official eccelesiastical authorities tackled these 32220 problems with lucidity and realism, and, in the discussion brought up by the modernisation of intermediate-range nuclear weapons, they spoke with the voice of reason. However, these were limited, contingency initiatives, not a deep reflection on the ethics of deterrence; moreover, the intervention of the French bishops lacked the depth and the significance of the pastoral letters adopted in the spring of 1983 by their counterparts in the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany. It was, then, important that the French Episcopate should not hold itself aloof from the movement joined by the Western churches, more especially as Christians were involved in the discussion on the nuclear arms race. It was furthermore judged necessary to bring attention to the dangers of a short-view pacifism by defining the framework within which their specific contribution to the construction of peace could lie. It is proposed to go over the main points of the situation prevailing in France before the adoption of the Episcopal document, 'Gagner la paix', to underline the innovation it constitutes compared with prior ecclesiastical texts before concluding on the future prospects of oecumenism bearing in mind that the Lutheran- Reformed churches have shown some dissatisfaction at being faced with a fait accompli and at seeing put forward a text very different from that prepared just before in the framework of a work unit placed under the double aegis of the 'Justice and Peace' Commission and the Commission sociale, economique et internationale (C.S.E.I.) de la Federation Protestante de France (Social, Economic and International Commission of the Protestant Federation of France). 2. A selective approach: the morality of arms sales and nuclear deterrence . Though the representatives of the French Church have always echoed the teachings of the Holy See and played an active part in the elaboration of the pastoral constitution 'Gaudium et Spes', it cannot be said that they have faced up to the concrete problems raised by the arms race before the 1970s. Certainly, the establishment of a national nuclear deterrent has clashed with many feelings and numerous clergymen have risen up against the decision of General de Gaulle to develop France's independent nuclear deterrent. However, the Catholic hierarchy in general has never questioned the merits of this choice on moral grounds, and even when French nuclear tests in the Pacific brought protests from neighbouring States and incited New Zealand and Australia to bring the affair before the International Court of Justice at the Hague, it took care not to pronounce any summary condemnations. However, the place occupied by France in the international arms business and the responsibility it has thus assumed in the proliferation of conventional weapons have retained the attention of the Christian churches since the beginning of the 1970s. The Franco-Israeli litigation following removal of the 'Vedettes' (boats) from Cher- bourg on Christmas night 1969 was revealing in this connection, and the French section of the Pax Christi Movement tried to clarify the facts of the problem by calling in experts. Later it devoted a special issue of the Journul de la paiv ( `Journal of Peace') to the sale of arms,3 and published in the journal Projc·r ('Project') a study dealing with the question and underlining the ambivalence of French policy,.4 In fact, by selling weapons, France acquired the means to carry out an independent military policy, and in offering to the States of the Third World the possibility to obtain their supplies from her, she defied the hegemony of the two superpowers; at the same time, however, she prompted the proliferation of conventional weapons and nurtured the regional arms races whose disadvantages were evident, from the point of view of development as well as the stability of military balances. In any case, the sale of arms could not be condemned in absolute terms, and if one could admit the legitimacy of armed defence, one could not deny the countries without an armament industry the right to obtain on the international market what they needed to guarantee their security. Therefore, it was 33221 useless to try to resolve the problem of the sale of weapons without regard to the international context, and an effective set of rules was only conceivable in the perspective of a balanced reduction of weapons, or indeed a general and complete disarmament. While Pax Christi played a pioneering role in this field, it was also associated in the elaboration of the 'note of reflection on the sale of arms' which was adopted on 13th April 1973 by the Permanent Council of the Episcopate and the Council of the Protestant Federation of France. This text denounces the 'realism traps' and exposes 'the devilish complication of the sale of arms' in which France is involved. It stresses the economic motives for the sale of arms and insists on the importance of the armament industry to French economic life. Among the remedies proposed are a programme for the reconversion of the arms industries, European co-operation on armaments, and an agreement between producing and exporting countries to regulate the transfer of arms in certain regions. This standpoint taken by the Christian churches has met with many objections, particularly from the Ministry of Defence, in so far as it did not accord a sufficient place to the analysis of the international situation, and neglected to take into consideration the connection between the export of arms and French military policy. The fact remains that economic considerations and a preoccupation to redress the balance of payments have dominated French policy following the rise in oil prices at the end of 1973; the result is that the sale of arms has grown in much larger proportions than the export of civilian equipment. It is this development that led the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Marty, to mention in his sermon of 1 1 th January 1976 at Notre Dame de Paris the hypocrisy of a defense policy which is in the service of peace, but leads France 'by badly understood economic necessity to balance its external accounts by developing the sale of arms. Faced with present social difficulties, there are few who dare rise their voices. Let the Christian do it!'. Since then, reflection on the sale of arms has been followed up as much in the framework of the oecumenical group composed of members of the 'Justice and Peace' Commitee and the Social, Economic and International Committee of the Protestant Federation in France as in that of the movements of managers, engineers, and Christian leaders (MCC). It has led to two publications: a special number of the MCC review Respo/1sables ('Authorities') of March 1977: 'What should we think of the sale of arms"; and a collection of texts reflecting positions of Catholic and Protestant bodies in the United States, Great Britain and France on these subjects: De.s Eglises d'occident face aux exportations d'armes ('Western Churches in face of the export of arms'), L'Harmattan 1979. It can, then, be considered that the Churches and the movements connected with them have looked very carefully into the problems of the sale of arms and have decided their doctrine on the matter. On the other hand, before adoption of the declaration of Lourdes (November 1983), the legitimacy of deterrence was the subject of controversy and the Church movements tended to totally condemn the use, as well as the possession of nuclear arms. Faithful to its tradition, the French section of Pax Christi tackled these problems in the 1950s by seeking the advice of experts - theologians, scientists, the military, officials - and in 1958 published L'atome, pour ou contre 1'homtne ('The Atom, for or against Man') which detailed the conclusions it had come to. These did not satisfy the unilateralists because it was thought that the risks from nuclear weapons could only be warded off by international agreements, and that the disarmament to be reached should be the result of a concerted action by all interested States. As for the peaceful use of the atom, this deserved to be encouraged on the condition that there were appropriate guarantees to restrict, or even put a stop to the dissemination of the new weapon. For France, the matter had not yet become urgent as the research and the development programmes undertaken by the governments of the I Vth Republic had not yet been accomplished, and also because the nuclear weapons tests were not to take place before 34222 1960. Not before General de Gaulle came to power and the first law of the military programme was voted could a real discussion get started on France's nuclear strategy, and we know that the choice of an independent nuclear deterrent did not find favour with the majority of French people. The expression of this disagreement can be found in the standpoints of the Pax Christi militants of that time, but the leadership of the Movement has always refused to stigmatize France's military policies, since she was not the only one to have nuclear arms and since the two superpowers bore the main responsibility for the arms race. Nevertheless, Pax Christi deplored the fact that the French Government did not take part in the disarmament negotiations from 1962 onwards, and that it did carry out the 'empty chair' policy at the 18-nations UN Committee of Disarmament (ENDC) in Geneva. In 1971, at its annual congress, it proposed the creation of a National Disarmament Agency in the hope that an institutional establishment of this magnitude would facilitate the change in direction of the policy followed. Its wishes were fulfilled when President Giscard d'Estaing announced in 1977 that France would take initiatives to bring the debate out of deadlock and would reconsider her position on the assumption of a reform of the negotiating bodies. Pax Christi supported these initiatives and approved the positions to plead the cause of the French Government during the 19th Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on Disarmament (May- June 1978).' Since then, it has continued to plead the cause of a mutual, balanced and controlled disarmament, conforming to the provisions of its charter.6 6 The 'Justice and Peace' Commission has, in this connection, adopted more trenchant positions, and, during the summer of 1973, published a communique condemning the French nuclear tests in the Pacific; it regarded nuclear tests in that region as a danger to the health of the environment. It was also a visible sign of France's participation in the arms race, and the resulting bad example given to potential nuclear arms candidates risked weakening the dis- positions taken with a view to restricting proliferation. The argument that the tests were necessary in order to modernize the French nuclear force and reinforce its credibility was not recognized, as it was considered that deterrence 'by the weakest against the strong' was not a legitimate means of defence and that it was necessary to use different methods if one aimed at a more dignified conception of man than that which linked the security of the national community with the threat of massive reprisals. The reservations expressed from the beginning by the 'Justice and Peace' Commission concerning the deterrent strategy have not proved wrong in the event. On the 19th October 1981 it issued a declaration on the occasion of the disarmament week which stressed the need to find a substitute for armed defence and suggested that trust be put principally in non-violent methods of action to guarantee security.' The following year it published an analysis of the dangers of military ascendancy emphasizing the role of social, economic and ideological factors and drawing attention to the risks of the militarization of society. Concerning 'armed threats' it stressed the wastage of resources caused by the arms race and the incalculable risks to humanity from nuclear arms, but avoided elaborating on defence requirements and the means to prevent contlict. It expressed also reservation about traditional methods of arms control which rely on a 'total rationality of governments' and the permanence of a security system which is 'dramatically fragile, and, in the long run, ridiculous'.~ Finally, in April 1983 the Commission published some thoughts on French nuclear deterrence which condemn the 'counter-city' strategy, considered to be contrary to Christian ethics. l) These different stands sowed confusion, the more so as the dominant tendency of the Churches did not go in this direction. Thus, the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of France and of the Federal Republic of Germany had published, on 18th June 1982, a common declaration, 'Faire la Paix' ('Make Peace'),10 which challenged unilateral disarmament judged to be 'perilous for peace, for 35223 autonomy and the freedom of our peoples'. According to them, the priority objective was putting a halt to the arms race which 'continues to be a mortal menace' and without neglecting the other dimensions of a policy tending to anticipate the conflicts, they extolled the systematic search for agreements for a controlled limitation of armaments, with a perspective of progressive disarmament, under international control. Nevertheless, they considered that in present conditions a balance of power was necessary for such negotiations to be carried through efficiently. The same opinion was expressed in the document given to the President of the Republic on 2nd July 1982 by a delegation composed of three representatives of the Catholic Church and one of the Protestant Federation of France. This step lay within the context of movements of opinion brought up by the Second Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on Disarmament and attested to the continuity of the Churches' action in favour of peace. In the circumstances, the President's interlocutors did not dispute the 'dispositions taken by the political and military authorities in the field of defence' and they noted 'not without anguish', the fact that nuclear arms formed the object, in France, of a majority consensus and that these arms played a determinant role in the organization of the security of the Northern Hemisphere. They only expressed the wish that the French Government would take new initiatives in the field of disarmament and work, in the immediate, to restore confidence and assure the balance of power in Europe." I These moderate remarks by qualified representatives of the Churches contrasted with the abrupt questioning of France's military policy coming from think tanks such as the 'Justice and Peace' Commission or from militants claiming to support non-violent actions. An effort towards doctrinal clarification was necessary, then, and it was urgent that the French Episcopate should pronounce themselves clearly on the morality of nuclear deterrence and formulate practical recommendations for Christians engaged in the service of peace. 3. The declaration of the Bishops: 'Gagner la Paix' Six months after the publication of the pastoral letter of the American and West German Bishops, the French bishops in turn made a declaration on current problems of war and peace. These were urgent matters in the context of the modernization of nuclear arms in Europe, and in so far as the Churches of the United States and of the GFR had resolved to approach them squarely, the French Church could not keep out of the movement. It is known that in January 1983 it was involved in the consultation procedure which preceded the adoption of the American pastoral letter and that the draft of a parallel document took shape in the summer of 1983. The text adopted at Lourdes on 8th November bears the mark of the Bishop of Beauvais, Mgr Jullien, but the contribution from other editors, indeed from groups and people whose opinion had been sought during the gestation phase of the declaration entitled 'Gagner la Pais', can also be noted The position taken by the bishops was immediately exploited for partisan purposes and the media have helped keep up the misunderstanding by underlining the most controversial parts of the document. So all that the public at large has retained is the approval given to French military policy and the condemnation of pacifism, whilst the bishops have tailored their judgement on nuclear deterrence with considerations underlining its precarious character and have showed a remarkable openness to all those who work for mutual disarmament and try to reduce the role of the military factor in international relations. The main point of the episcopal message comes under the heading 'constructing peace' and the recommendations responded to most of the questions posed by peace militants. Contrary to a widespread opinion in Christian circles, echoed by such publications as Témoig- nags Cl2r-etien'3 and L' actuulité religieu.se dans le mode, 14 the Lourdes declaration was not worked out by technocrats forgetful of the basic sentiments, and it is fitting to recall in 36224 this respect that the consultations taken before the adoption of this text were very wide-ranging. The fact that not everybody is satisfied with it does not weaken the pastoral, or even prophetic character of a declaration which conforms to the teachings of the Holy See but also takes into account the particular situation prevailing in France. Like the American and German bishops, the French Episcopate recognized, under certain conditions, the legitimacy of nuclear deterrence to ensure the security of States, and there is no cause to be surprised by this standpoint since it follows the general line of the pastoral constitution 'Gaudium et Spes' and the message given by Pope John Paul II to the United Nations. However, French nuclear strategy based on the threat of reprisals directed against cities raises ethical problems, and some people contest that its logic is compatible with the terms of the Catholic doctrine. This is particularly the point of view held by the 'Justice and Peace' Commission and by the Bishop of Ev- reux, Mgr Gaillot, who voted against the declaration and publicly set out the reasons for this choice. The majority did not rally to this position, and the arguments used are very close to those of the West German bishops. While the American bishops are first of all concerned with the outbreak of nuclear war and making precise proposals designed to avoid this danger, their German counterparts seem to be more concerned with the risks of destabilization of the balance on which deterrence rests, and without going into details on the measures suitable for the maintenance of peace, they confine themselves to formulating the principles from which the political and military policy-makers should draw inspiration. To their way of thinking, nuclear deterrence is only justifiable if the means used to ensure it do not hinder the carrying out of a balanced disarmament and are not aimed towards achieving strategic superiority. Finally, the objective pursued is the prevention of any conflict, nuclear or conventional, and any attempt at finding a way out of the dilemma of deterrence by 'mutual assured destruction' in opting for war- fighting counter-force weapons is judged inappropriate. The French bishops expressed themselves in similar terms, but they had to take into consideration the specific features of French nuclear strategy. One can of course reproach them for having avoided discussion of the morality of the threat of massive reprisals against populated areas and there were those who did not fail to do so. But the bishops' detractors do not distinguish sufficiently between the strategy of managing available means ('strat6gie des moy- ens') from the strategy of action, and give in far too easily to the temptation of confusing nuclear war-fighting and deterrence. In any case, one cannot condemn French military policy on the pretext that it relies on deterrence by 'the weakest against the strong' and is not based on an arsenal that is redundant and as diversified as that at the disposal of the two superpowers. So the bishops were right to imply that nuclear strategy was above all an 'anti-war-strategy' , 15 that the threat of reprisals for defensive purposes was not the same as the use of the weapon and that minimal deterrence was no more sinful than that which relied on selective response and counterforce strikes. According to the dominant doctrine of the Catholic Church, nuclear deterrence is a lesser evil which is intolerable and morally acceptable only if it is a step on the road to progressive disarmament. The French bishops have pierced the paradoxes and risks of a security system based on the threat of 'mutual assured destruction' and they call for the courage and imagination of all people of good will to break out of this absurd logic and promote a peace which conforms to the demands of truth, justice, solidarity and liberty, these four pillars described in the Encyclical letter 'Pacem in terris'. Thus the bishops did not give their blessing to 'the balance of terror', and whilst they warn of the dangers of a short-view pacifism, they do not hesitate to recommend research with a view to setting up a non-violent defense system. Of course the steps taken in this direction are only likely to bring about fruitful results if one excludes all dogmatism and if one is fired by the will to face up to the 37225 real problems confronting States and human communities anxious to preserve their integrity and to affirm their identity on the international scene. Today, many people doubt that non-violent civil defence is the appropriate means of containing the hegemonic claims of the Soviet Union, and it is possible that the organization of security in Europe must count for a long time yet with the threat of nuclear arms deployed on either side of the demarcation line. In the context of East-West relations, the crucial question is that of the dialogue with the ideological adversary to define a code of conduct for international relations and arrive at a diminution of military confrontation. In his message of lst January 1983, to celebrate the International Day of Peace, Pope John Paul II drew attention to the difficulties of the undertaking when some of the opposing parties are 'nurtured with ideologies opposed to the dignity of man and see the struggle as the driving power of history'. However, he called upon men to take up this challenge and considered that even in apparently blocked situations 'the attempt at a lucid dialogue was necessary for the development of peace on particular points' . Going by the trenchant judgement of the French bishops on the 'dominating and aggressive' character of Marxist-Leninist ideology (an echo of the Encyclical letter 'Divini Red- emptoris') and on the threat brought to bear by the USSR on Western democracies, one is led to think that they do not at all believe in the perspective of a negotiated solution of East-West problems. Attention was drawn to this passage by the French Communist Party, and in an editorial in L'Humanite on 10th November 1983, Mr. Rene Andrieu denounced a cold war vocabulary 'which substitutes invective for argument and appears more suitable for preparing a crusade than for winning peace'. However, he recognized that the Episcopal Assembly did not restrict itself to imprecations, but also made proposals authorizing a 'broad participation of Christians in the struggle for peace' . The fact is that the Bishops are not resigned to the fatality of the present blockage and in order that humanity should be able to extract itself from the 'distress situation' in which it finds itself, they preach the continuation of dialogue, at the same time conscious of its ambiguity and limits. 'In comparison to the dialogue of the deaf constituted by our threats and counterthreats, is not the dialogue of the hard-of-hearing already progress? Talking to each other, listening to each other, decoding the neighbour's manner of speaking, is this not already a means of getting along and of reversing the spiral of the Tower of Babel?' These questions can be replied to in the positive, because 'there is no alternative for us - we have to win peace'. The declaration of the Bishops cleared up the misunderstanding persisting in France on the official position of the Catholic Church on nuclear deterrence, but at the same time generated a new debate. Thus, the General Assembly of the Protestant Federation of France, on 13th November 1983 at La Rochelle, adopted a brief text whose preamble differs on many points from the Bishops' document. It rejects the attitude which considers 'either one of the ideologies in question as an absolute evil' and advocates a nuclear freeze as a 'first step in the de-escalation of over-armament, even if it is unilateral'16 However, the recommendations made to churches, institutions, workers and movements of the Protestant Federation resemble those contained in the declaration of the Bishops, and this convergence augurs well for the future of an oecumenical research and action in this field, similar to those which had led to the 'Note of Reflection on the Sale of Arms' in April 1973. The meeting of the standing Councils ('Con- seils permanents') of the Catholic and Lutheran-reformed churches of France, which took place the 14th and 15th December 1983, adopted a resolution asking the faithful Christians to study the above mentioned texts and to open a dialogue in order to promote a peace which fits with the teaching of the Gospel. Christians are thus invited to debate these problems without denying the 'legitimate differences of opinion' which oppose them, and to act in a responsible manner in favour of 38226 peace which is not reduced to non-war, and can only fully develop in the emotional recognition of the fundamental rights of all countries and all citizens. Translated from French by Eileen Fredriksen NOTES 1. Monthly publication as a follow-up to the In formations catholiques internationales 2. See texts published under the title: 'Le débat autour de la bombe atomique francaise' in La Documentation catholique, 5-19 August 1973, No. 1637. 3. Le Journal de la Paix — No. 179, April 1970. 4. R. Michel: 'La France vend des armes', Pro- jet, November 1970. 5. See 'La France et la session spéciale des Na tions Unies sur le désarmament' — Le Journal de la Paix, No. 261, June 1978. 6. This charter entitled 'Principles et objectifs d'action de Pax Christi' was approved by the General Assembly of the movement in the spring of 1978 and published in Le Journal de la Paix, No. 262, July 1978. 7. See La Documentation catholique — No. 1820- 19th December 1981. 8. See La Documentation catholique — No. 1844- 16th January 1983. 9. This text prepared by the C.S.E.I. of the Pro testant Federation of France and the Catholic committee 'Justice et Paix' was published under the exclusive aegis of the 'Justice et Paix' Committee on 28th April 1983. 10. See La Documentation catholique — No. 1833- 4th July 1982. 11. The delegation was composed of Cardinal Gouynon (Pax Christi), Monseigneur Menager (Justice et Paix), Father Defois (Secretary-Gen eral of the Conférence épiscopale) and Pastor Maury (Fédération protestante de France). The text of the note given to the President of the Republic was published in La Documentation catholique — No. 1835 - 1-15 August 1982. 12. The text of the declaration was published in La Documentation catholique - No. 1863 - 4th December 1983. See also the special number of the Journal de la paix (No. 316, January 1984) and the brochure entitled Gagner la paix, Cen turion, Paris 1983. 13. Special number entitled: 'Oui à l'espérance, non au texte des évêques' - No. 2054 - 21-27 November 1983. 14. File: 'Quelle paix à l'ombre des missiles? —L'actualité religieuse dans le monde - No. 7- 15th December 1983. 15. This theme has been developed by Professor Léo Hamon in a book which appeared in 1966 with a foreword by General Ailleret: La stratégie contre la querre, Paris, Grasset. 16. See the text No. 8 entitled: 'La lutte pour la paix' and a report of the Assembly of La Rochelle in the weekly Réforme - 19th November 1983.</meta-value></custom-meta></custom-meta-wrap></article-meta></front><back><notes>
<p>1. Monthly publication as a follow-up to the <italic>In formations catholiques internationales</italic></p>
<p>2. See texts published under the title: 'Le débat autour de la bombe atomique francaise' in <italic>La Documentation catholique,</italic> 5-19 August 1973, No. 1637.</p>
<p>3. Le <italic>Journal de la Paix —</italic> No. 179, April 1970.</p>
<p>4. R. Michel: 'La France vend des armes', <italic>Pro- jet,</italic> November 1970.</p>
<p>5. See 'La France et la session spéciale des Na tions Unies sur le désarmament' — <italic>Le Journal de la Paix,</italic> No. 261, June 1978.</p>
<p>6. This charter entitled 'Principles et objectifs d'action de Pax Christi' was approved by the General Assembly of the movement in the spring of 1978 and published in <italic>Le Journal de la Paix,</italic> No. 262, July 1978.</p>
<p>7. See <italic>La Documentation catholique —</italic> No. 1820- 19th December 1981.</p>
<p>8. See <italic>La Documentation catholique —</italic> No. 1844- 16th January 1983.</p>
<p>9. This text prepared by the C.S.E.I. of the Pro testant Federation of France and the Catholic committee 'Justice et Paix' was published under the exclusive aegis of the 'Justice et Paix' Committee on 28th April 1983.</p>
<p>10. See <italic>La Documentation catholique —</italic> No. 1833- 4th July 1982.</p>
<p>11. The delegation was composed of Cardinal Gouynon (Pax Christi), Monseigneur Menager (Justice et Paix), Father Defois (Secretary-Gen eral of the Conférence épiscopale) and Pastor Maury (Fédération protestante de France). The text of the note given to the President of the Republic was published in <italic>La Documentation catholique —</italic> No. 1835 - 1-15 August 1982.</p>
<p>12. The text of the declaration was published in <italic>La Documentation catholique</italic> - No. 1863 - 4th December 1983. See also the special number of the <italic>Journal de la paix</italic> (No. 316, January 1984) and the brochure entitled <italic>Gagner la paix,</italic> Cen turion, Paris 1983.</p>
<p>13. Special number entitled: 'Oui à l'espérance, non au texte des évêques' - No. 2054 - 21-27 November 1983.</p>
<p>14. File: 'Quelle paix à l'ombre des missiles? <italic>—L'actualité religieuse dans le monde -</italic> No. 7- 15th December 1983.</p>
<p>15. This theme has been developed by Professor Léo Hamon in a book which appeared in 1966 with a foreword by General Ailleret: <italic>La stratégie contre la querre,</italic> Paris, Grasset.</p>
<p>16. See the text No. 8 entitled: 'La lutte pour la paix' and a report of the Assembly of La Rochelle in the weekly <italic>Réforme -</italic> 19th November 1983.</p>
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