To His Excellency
Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort

Jesus! Mary! Joseph!

To His Excellency,
Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort
Archbishop of Reims
3 rue du cardinal de Lorraine
PO BOX 32729
51058 Reims cedex

Registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt

St-Parres-lès-Vaudes, June 29, 2020

Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Excellency,

The Conference of French Bishops published on June 25, 2020 on its website an unsigned document, entitled “Warning Concerning the Doctrine of the Catholic Counter-Reformation,” which can be consulted by anyone. Under the guise of an alleged criticism of Father de Nantes’ doctrinal work , its author explicitly attributes to him “unacceptable moral behaviours.”

On a subject such as this, I abstain from replying to slander that exposes our Father to trial by the mob, the sole purpose of which is to dishonour his memory, to cast irremediable discredit on all his work. This is a criminal subterfuge to dispense you from responding to the memorandum which I was asked to write on April 15, 2019, by Archbishop Georges Pontier, then Archbishop of Marseilles, based on a questionnaire prepared by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. There were five difficult questions dealing essentially with the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium of the Popes, successors of the Apostle Peter, to which we gave five detailed answers based on the work of Father Georges de Nantes.

Has this memorandum that we have officially given to the four ordinaries on whom our Houses depend, as well as to Cardinal Ladaria, put the bishops of France in their totality in such an awkward position? No doubt it has, and that is why I will not receive any frank and loyal answer from you. Nor do I expect one. I, however, am entitled to warn you, Excellency, that if on receipt of this letter, you do not withdraw this document from publication, you will undoubtedly escape the justice of men. Nonetheless, you will be held accountable before our Most Cherished Heavenly Father Who is also our Judge for the murderous words it contains, as they were written and published under your responsibility and wrapped up in an alleged doctrinal analysis, the intellectual poverty of which is criminal.

Please accept, Your Excellency, in spite of my indignation, the expression of my respectful and devoted regards,

Brother Bruno de Jesus-Marie,
Superior General of the Order of the Little Brothers
and Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart.