Martin Dumont, historian, examines relations between France and the papacy
In an interview with Le Monde, the general secretary of the Sorbonne's IRER explains why France has never been regarded as a hopeless case by the popes, despite its advanced secularization.
Historian Martin Dumont, secretary general of the Research Institute for the Study of Religions at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, returned in an interview with Le Monde to the tumultuous relations between France and the papacy, from the Middle Ages to Leo XIV.
According to Dumont, despite advanced secularization, France has never been considered an irredeemable case in the eyes of successive popes, an observation that sheds light on the particular nature of the historical link between Paris and the Vatican.
The interview retraces the main stages of this relationship, marked by periods of tension but also by a continuity in the papacy's attention to France, despite the weakening of religious practice in the country in recent decades.
Le Monde did not specify in the available excerpt all the historical examples developed by the historian during the interview.
Sources
- Martin Dumont, historien : « En dépit de sa sécularisation avancée, la France n’a jamais été considérée comme un cas “irrécupérable” aux yeux des papes » — Le Monde — Une
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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